Charles Clifton Robertson of Bay City passed away on March 13, 2025.  Charlie was born on July 19, 1931 on a farm in rural Fayette County Alabama.  He was the third of seven children born to Robert Lee and Dessie Mae McCool Robertson.  Born into a dirt-poor sharecropper family, Charlie was put to work chopping cotton at the age of 5.  He and his siblings were not allowed to go to school until the cotton crop was in.  He refused to let the lack of education hold him back.

At age 18, 6 foot tall and weighing 119 pounds, Charlie volunteered for the Army.  Not too long after that, the Korean War started, and he wound up fighting with the infantry over there for over 15 months.  He entered the war as a private and came home as Sergeant First Class with several medals including the Bronze Star.

Before he was discharged, he met Bobbie JoAnn Goddard at a county fair and fell in love.  The were married on December 27, 1951, and were together util her death on May 22, 2015.  After being discharged, Charlie and JoAnn made their way to Bay City, TX, where her family lived.  Charlie worked on various construction jobs including the Matagorda locks.  He then went to work at Coastal Automotive and was there for several years.  In 1965, Charlie went to work for Arthur Brothers at the Celanese Chemical plant and on March 1, 1966, was hired as machinist first class by Celanese.

After numerous promotions, Charlie was selected to help lead a team building a methanol plant in Jubail, Saudia Arabia, as a joint venture. Charlie, JoAnn and their son Chris moved to Saudi Arabia for two years.  During this assignment, they travelled the world extensively.  After returning to Bay City, Charlie held various senior supervisory positions before retiring on August 31, 1997, after 31 years of exemplary service.

While working at Celanese, Charlie discovered golf and promptly quit baseball and fishing.  Self-taught, he became an excellent golfer and was BayCel Club champion for several years.  Playing into his late eighties, shooting his age or better was an expectation and not a feat.  From a hardscrabble beginning with little formal education, Charlie had a lifetime of accomplishments to be proud of – from serving his country in battle with distinction to achieving outstanding results in work and play and raising a family that loved and respected him.

Charlie is survived by his children Renee Ramey (James), Michael Robertson and Chris Robertson (Mary), as well as sisters Grace, Ivalene and Nell; grandchildren Rhonda Brantley (Dale) and Brandon Ramey; great grandchildren Sarah, John and Leah Brantley as well as numerous nieces and nephews.  Charlie was preceded in death by his wife JoAnn, brothers J. B. and Bob and sister Eva.

Graveside services will be at 2:00 PM Thursday, March 20, 2025 at Roselawn Memorial Park.  In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to St. Jude Children's Hospital or the American Diabetes Association.