Charles Grant Gwinner

Charles (Charlie) Grant Gwinner, beloved husband, father, uncle and cousin passed away Thursday, June 18, 2026.

Friends and family will gather for a Life Celebration on Sunday, July 12, from 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm at Edgemoor Recreation Center, 5815 E 9ths St, Wichita Ks, with a Memorial at 2:30 pm.

Born December 30, 1951, in Edmond, Oklahoma, Charlie was the only child of Roxie Mae (Smyrl) and John Phillip (Phil) Gwinner.

Charlie’s family moved to Wellington, Kansas when he was in kindergarten. He went through elementary and high school in Wellington, graduating in 1970. One of the many stories Charlie used to tell was his experience working summers on a farm where he learned about the value of hard work. He talked about the physical effort involved “bucking hay bales” into the barn loft. Another favorite memory was the rush to “get the harvest in” despite the unrelenting Kansas weather - heat, dust, chance of rain, wind, and all of that against the backdrop of time running out.

After graduation, Charlie moved to Wichita, where he enrolled at WSU. During his time in college, he focused on core credits but decided he would rather pursue more hands-on work. He was very mechanically minded, enjoyed working on cars, and with his hands. Although he decided against pursuing a formal education, Charlie always loved to learn. He was particularly interested in history and enjoyed reading incessantly about many subjects throughout his life.

Charlie made many lifelong friends during his time at WSU. Being an only child, friendships were very important to him and a handful were elevated to ‘chosen brother’ status over the course of the years. To this day, the bond he had with that group of ‘brothers’ remains unbroken.

In addition to the closeness he had with friends, cousins were very important to Charlie and very prominent in his life. All during his childhood, it was common for holidays and various birthday celebrations to be a gathering of Roxie and Phil’s extended families. Phil had two brothers and a sister, all of whom had kids, so the cousins spent many hours in one another’s company. Three of the cousins remained close throughout adulthood and were also considered his surrogate siblings.

Charlie had several jobs leading to his chosen field of Inside Sales for equipment companies. His final employment was with Hyspeco, starting on April 1, 1991. It was a notable achievement that he worked at Hyspeco for thirty years to the day, retiring on April 1, 2021. Charlie’s outgoing personality and dedicated work-ethic made him a mainstay in the Customer Service department. In addition to the many customers Charlie was friendly with, he made numerous lasting friendships with his co-workers.

Charlie met his wife on Thanksgiving weekend in 1984, at a reunion of his out-of-town friends listening to their musician friend playing at one of the local clubs. Terese and her date, who also knew Charlie, happened to be at the same club and the two groups interacted. The following week Charlie called Terese and they began dating. Charlie quickly took to her young son, Lucas, who coincidentally shared the same birthday as Charlie, Dec 30.

Charlie and Terese were married the following year, Nov 23, 1985, the one-year anniversary of their meeting.

Charlie and Terese’s family grew with the birth of Charlie’s firstborn, Phillip Charles Lewis Gwinner, on May 10, 1988, named after Charlie and his dad, Phil. Having a newborn in the house changed life dramatically, but all for the better. Charlie and Terese welcomed their last child, Emily Renee Lewis Gwinner on August 30, 1991 and that rounded out the family.

Charlie enjoyed working on cars and particularly his sports car, an Austin Healy Bugeye Sprite. He had invested many hours keeping that car running and delighted in reminiscing about the trip he took to Colorado and up to the top of Pike’s Peak with his ‘brother’ Richard back in their bachelor days. Throughout its life in the Gwinner-Lewis household the Healy received honored-status treatment, always getting the single-car garage spot, both at their first house and then in their long-time current residence right up until the time a replacement 2-Car garage was built in 2012. With that trade-off, Charlie graciously pulled snow-scraping duty for the two cars that had to park on the street for all those years. Eventually, acknowledging they were past their maneuvering capability getting in and out of such a low-slung car, Charlie sold the Healy in 2015.

Another enjoyment Charlie had was going to estate sales on weekends or to antique malls with his ‘brother’ Jeff. Charlie had a passion for windup toys, which his parents started as a Christmas Tradition in his early childhood, and he continued receiving one at each Christmas throughout his adulthood. Charlie began supplementing his collection and it quickly grew from an annual toy to any that caught his discerning eye at the many venues they frequented. He also developed an interest in Petroleum Glass from the early 20th Century and picked up one or two of those pieces as well. Another passion he has was for Maxfield Parish prints and he had recently developed an interest in Art Deco picture frames.

Charlie’s dad, Phil, collected canes so that became another item to be on the lookout for. Any time there was an unusual, or particularly well-crafted cane for sale Charlie purchased it for his dad. Over the years Phil’s beloved collection grew to massive proportions, which Charlie inherited upon Phil’s death in 2022.

After Charlie’s mother Roxie’s untimely death in 2003, he made a concerted effort to spend one evening a week with his dad in down in Wellington. That became an established tradition and Phil and Charlie became mainstays at the local diner, Penney’s. Phil enjoyed remarkably good health and stayed in his home until the last 6 months of his life, when he was welcomed by Charlie and Terese in their home in Wichita. Charlie was very devoted to his dad and enjoyed every opportunity to spend time with him.

Charlie was preceded in death by his parents, his cousin Craig Gwinner, and his beloved daughter, Emily, who passed away in October 2020.

He leaves behind wife Terese R. Lewis, sons Lucas M. L. Deaton and Phillip C. L. Gwinner, granddaughter Kayleigh R. Deaton, and great-grandson Azai R. Jackson, and cousins Kent (Kathy) Wicker, Brenda (Craig) Gwinner, and Nan (Coy) Wooten. His chosen brothers Lander Ballard, Rick Brazil, Jeff Chapman, Anthony Dozier, Richard Mullenax, and Dan Welty.

Charlie will be missed by all who knew him and remembered always for the kind and gentle soul that he was, for his great sense of humor, generosity, and his love of life.