| | Charles Edward Stoneking 
WINTER HAVEN -- Mr. Charles Edward Stoneking of Winter Haven was a private but generous man and one who understood the value of hard work. He died of cancer Wednesday (April 5, 2006) in Winter Haven. He was 83.
"He was a very gracious man and was always inviting people into his home," said his nephew, Barry Bennett of Winter Haven.
Born in Terre Haute, Ind., on March 16, 1923, he came to Winter Haven from Indiana in 1946. He owned the Rustic Lounge. At one time he was a trucker with his brother. He met his future wife, who was in the bar business, and together, they opened up the lounge, which they owned for 20 years.
`I was very young, but I remember that the Rustic Lounge used to be one of Polk County's hot spots,' Bennett said.
Mr. Stoneking and his wife also owned a small bar called the Orange Bowl and an apartment complex. Bennett remembers when he would visit his uncle on Saturdays and would get paid to do small chores. That is where he remembers learning the value of hard work.
Mr. Stoneking was also a real estate broker for Lynn Gierke Real Estate.
He and his brother served for three years as masons in the Navy during World War II, where they were in the Seabees.
Mr. Stoneking was an avid fisherman and hunter. He was a member of the Egypt Temple in Tampa, Lake Wales Masonic Lodge No. 242 F & AM and the Moose Lodge in Winter Haven.
He was a Baptist.
Mr. Stoneking was preceded in death by his wife, Delean Stoneking. He is survived by his brother, Leroy Stoneking, Hallettsville, Texas, and sister, Josephine Latham, Staunton, Ind.
Visitation will be from 9 to 10 a.m. Friday at Oak Ridge Funeral Care, Winter Haven. Services will follow at 10 a.m. at the funeral home chapel.
Memorials may be made to Shriners Hospitals for Children, 2900 Rocky Point Drive, Tampa, 33607, or Good Shepherd Hospice, 105 Arneson Ave., Auburndale, FL 33823.
By SALMA NAWLO
Special to The Ledger
|
