Mr. Charles “Rip” Widick

July 22, 1955 - May 21, 2021

Charles “Rip” Widick was released from this world on May 21, 2021 to a place where the shrimp are always running, sunflowers bloom all year long, and boat motors never break down.  He was stricken with metastatic cancer and fought valiantly with the support of his friends and family before succumbing to this disease. Rip was born on July 22, 1955 in Pensacola, Florida to Lester and Patricia Widick.  He was raised on Marine Corps bases along with his sisters Patti Widick Neale (Chris), Susan Widick Nelson (Greg), Trudi Widick, and Karen Keith (Marshall), until 1970 when his father retired from the USMC after 24 years of service and moved his family to Titusville.  Besides his 4 sisters, he is survived by his nephew, Cameron Keith, and his niece Mia Kamenelis.  He married Barbara Wilson in 2002 and she preceded him to the Promised Land in 2020. Rip lived in Titusville and enjoyed most of the amenities that the Indian River offered.  He spent thousands of hours clamming, fishing, shrimping and occasionally crabbing.  He developed a knack for fixing boat motors and became popular with many friends and acquaintances for helping them get their motors back up and running.  Many times he offered assistance to stranded boaters by towing them back to safety.  His willingness to aid those in need has been expressed by all of his friends who called or visited in his last month on earth.  Each person describes him as wonderful friend and great guy.  He was truly blessed with a treasure chest of friends from all walks of life. Rip loved growing wildflowers, bananas, papayas, and mangoes, which he gave away to friends and neighbors.  His yard was a jungle of giant sunflowers along with the aforementioned fruit trees.  He was also an animal lover and had a following of feral cats.  Dogs seemed to immediately take to him and he would cuddle and fuss over them, much to their delight. Rip lived his life in his own way, and walked to the beat of a different drummer.  His kindness toward others was apparent, and would give someone the shirt off his back, while not having one to replace it.  He will be genuinely missed by those who called him friend, and by me, who called him brother. If you are so inclined, please make a donation to St. Francis Reflections Lifestage and Care Center.  The “earth angels” who devote their careers to caring and comforting those at the end of their lives attended to the needs of my brother for the last 2 weeks of his life.  For this, I am eternally grateful. 🙏❤️ ~ Susan Widick Nelson