He is survived by his mother and father: Jordan and Jeremy Keith; maternal grandparents Larkin and Kathe Ryal; paternal grandmother Becky Brown; best friends Mia and Nathan; his two dogs: Comet and Coco; as well as great grandparents, numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and supporters of his hard-fought battle with Stage IV Neuroblastoma. Charlie is preceded in death by his uncle Dylan Keith, paternal great-grandfather Charles Vaughn, and maternal great-grandmother Ruby Humphrey. All those who met Charlie were inspired by his care-free spirit and witty personality. He was a great storyteller, as he entertained his listeners with sound effects, topic changes, and plenty of cliffhangers to keep them wanting to hear more. Some of his best stories were memories of his adventures as a survivalist. Charlie enjoyed the entire typical little boy ventures: the color blue, playing in the dirt, and video games—Minecraft, to be precise. Charlie will be most remembered by his desire to be a cowboy, as evidenced by his Make-A-Wish Foundation trip to Tucson, Arizona to the White Stallion Dude Ranch in the spring of 2014.
A lover of all animals—both big and small—Charlie housed numerous creatures(critters) as his pets, including: guinea pigs, rabbits, fish, dogs, ducklings, and lizards. Charlie was able to attend school for a brief time in his young life. Prior to being diagnosed, Charlie attended the Mother’s Day Out program at Spring Creek Baptist Church, where he enjoyed Bible songs, stories about Jesus, and his favorite president, George Washington. He was also a Pre-K student at Dewar Elementary School in the 2014 fall semester.
Nearly half of Charlie’s life was spent inside the walls of OU Children’s Hospital and the Jimmy Everest Center, where he received the absolute best care and treatment by some of the most amazing and well-educated nurses and oncologists in the country. Charlie lived a beautiful life despite tough obstacles.
His family rejoiced in every opportunity in which he was able to participate, such as fishing, attending athletic events, swimming, and just getting the chance to be a normal little boy. Like his favorite superhero, Batman, once said, “It is not who I am, but what I do that defines me.” Charlie impacted many lives, which is how he will be remembered.
Memorial services are scheduled for Saturday, September 12, 2015, at 2:00p.m. at Spring Creek Baptist Church in OKC.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests, that in support of Childhood Cancer, donations be made to the following charities: Ally’s House, Toby Keith’s OK Kids’ Korral, and/or 10 Strong.
