Charles "Charlie" Ray Brinkley

Charles Ray Brinkley was born on November 6, 1949, in Clinton, Oklahoma, and passed away at his home on December 19, 2025. Charles was ornery from the get-go and especially fond of his grandmother, Cora. He graduated from Clinton High School in 1968 and was drafted the day after graduation. He joined the United States Marines as a ground infantryman, patrolling the demilitarized zone in Vietnam, and later continued his service in the Presidential Guard in El Toro, California.

After returning home, Charles began working for Williams Electric. He met and married Carolyn Green in 1973, and together they welcomed twin daughters, Lora and Cora, in 1976. Charles was delighted to be their dad. After their divorce, he married Jeanie Campbell in 1987, blending their families, and became a devoted father to five daughters.

Charles was a natural storyteller who joked endlessly. Once, he famously lured a skunk out of the family kitchen with pieces of a hot dog—only to be sprayed after the skunk made it outside. He was an electrician, a tinkerer, a Harley lover, and one heck of a Papa. Charles worked for many years at the Cherokee Restaurant alongside Jeanie, where customers and employees alike enjoyed his hilarious personality and endless jokes. He was kind to everyone, especially those on the fringes, and made friends wherever he went.

Charles loved the Lord, and in pursuit of rehabilitation and healing, he returned to Vietnam 27 times with Dave Roevers. As he processed wounds from the Vietnam War, each trip unfolded new layers of healing. Children in Vietnam often thought he was Santa Claus—a role he also joyfully played for his grandchildren, dressing in his Santa suit and holding them close. He was a child-whisperer; babies loved him, and kids somehow knew he was one of them.

Charles will be enormously missed by his wife of 38 years, Jeanie Brinkley of Edmond, Oklahoma; daughters Lora Brinkley-Shelton of Clinton and her children, Megan Carman and Mason Randol; Cora Brinkley-Gutel of Norman, Oklahoma; Shandee Campbell-Mikesh and husband Carl, and their children Josiah, Abigail, and Bethany of Berthoud, Colorado; Sharra Campbell-Williams and husband David, and their children Gage, Ashlyn, and Emery of Norman, Oklahoma; Shala Campbell of Yukon, Oklahoma; brother and sister-in-law Mike and Kathy Brinkley of Clinton, Oklahoma; sister Enola and husband Clyde Crayton of Clinton; sister Barbara Sue Brinkley-Kreizenbeck and husband Chris of Clinton; beloved sister-in-law Barbara Driscol Brinkley of Clinton; and many nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Blain and Ruth Brinkley; his brother, Leslie Brinkley; and his great-granddaughter, Rainie Lee Randol.

Charles Funeral service will be 2:00 P.M. Saturday, December 27, 2025 at the Life Fellowship Church in Weatherford, with Rick Freeman officiating. Burial will follow in the Chapel Hill Cemetery, overlooking the Cherokee Trading Post, under the direction of the Lee Hometown Funeral Home.