Charles E. "Chuck" Garing III, 73, passed away on 11-03-2024, at the side of his girlfriend of 24 yrs, Kathleen Chapman. They both grew up in Key West. He was a 5th generation "Conch," of Bahamian English, eastern European, and Cuban heritage. Following many fellow natives of the island, Chuck moved to Ocala just over 20 yrs ago. Chuck served as an alter boy at St. Mary's Star of the Sea in his youth, and was a 1969 graduate of Mary Immaculate High School. A card-carrying member of the IBEW, he loved doing electrical work for decades! His interests were old vehicles, guitars, drag racing, and learning about history.

Chuck is preceded in death by his beloved mother, Dolores A. (Gartenmayer) Garing, his devoted father, Charles E. Garing Jr., a veteran who served as a medic in WWII, and his younger brother, Mark Steven Garing, a Key West Firefighter.

Chuck is survived by his only child, Heather Lynn (Garing) Robinson, 53, a graduate of University of Florida who lives with her husband, Edward James Robinson, and young adult children, Nicholas, Matthew and Julianne, in Westfield, NJ. Kathleen's son CJ Davila, lives in St. Petersburg, FL, with his partner, Todd Refling. Her daughter, Shanon, is married to Steve Herbert. Shanon's children, Caitlin and Ashley Lafferty, who go to college in Tampa, grew up in Ocala with Chuck as a step-grandparent figure. Chuck has two first cousins who grew up like sisters to him, Debbie Clifford, and Tina Carr, both of whom reside in South Florida with their families.

Chuck asked that his ashes be taken to his hometown, where a private memorial will take place.