Obituary of Charles Felix Fernandez Charles Felix Fernandez was born on August 14, 1933 to Annette Herbert Fernandez and Henry Fernandez in Norco, Louisiana, living in the Shell Oil Company housing. Young Charlie enjoyed being near the Mississippi River, and all of the activities and food associated with Southern Louisiana and the Gulf Coast. As the United States entered World War II, the family moved to Houston, Texas so that his father could work in a refinery producing aviation fuels for the war effort. Charlie attended Immaculate Conception elementary school in Houston, and then moved on to attend St. Anthony High School in San Antonio, Texas in preparation for attendance at the Oblate College of the Southwest Seminary in San Antonio, Texas. Near completion on his time at the Seminary, Charlie realized that the priesthood was not his calling. Upon leaving the Seminary, Charlie was drafted into the US Army, performing his basic training at Fort Bliss, Texas and his advanced infantry training at Fort Ord, California. He was deployed to serve in the Seventh Army at Kfertal (Mannheim) Germany as a Chemical/Nuclear Warfare Specialist during the Cold War. It was at the Kfertal Base Exchange that he met his future wife, Erika Schlierf. They wed in Texas and had two sons, Charlie and Patrick. Upon leaving the Army, Charlie and Erika settled in Baytown, Texas where their first son, Charlie was born. During this time, the IBM Corporation was recruiting new individuals into their company. Charlie interviewed and scored highly on their selection exam. He was hired by IBM to work at their Tyler, Texas office initially and later in Longview, Texas working with the local universities, a defense laboratory, and steel production companies. While living in Longview, Charlie and Erika welcomed their second son, Patrick, to the family. The family enjoyed living in East Texas but Charlies career with IBM brought them to Dallas, Texas in 1968. The family settled in Farmers Branch where Charlie was also able to reunite with his Oblate brothers as a member of Mary Immaculate Parish. Charlie had a rich career with IBM working with many of the leading companies and industries in North Texas, awarded with numerous Symposium trips and other awards. He retired from IBM in 1993, but continued to stay active volunteering with Senior Net, an organization that assisted seniors in the adoption of personal computing, and later teaching at Brookhaven College. He also provided computer consulting services to small businesses and individuals. During his retirement, Charlie and Erika traveled the US seeing the many wonders across the states. They especially enjoyed visiting their siblings on these trips, as family was of great importance to them. Charlie and Erika enjoyed hosting Erikas family visiting from Germany at their home, showing them the sites around Dallas, across the State of Texas, and the South. They were also blessed with five grandchildren, Timothy, Christian, Katheryn, Alexander and Aoife, who they loved dearly. Charlie and Erika spent many weekends and holidays taking the grandchildren out on adventures to museums and the Texas State Fair. You could also find them on the sidelines of various sporting events and school activities proudly cheering on their grandchildren. After Erikas passing and as Charlie grew older, he moved to the St. Joseph Village in Coppell, Texas where he renewed some old friendships and formed many new ones. He especially enjoyed his time and friends at St. Joseph while also keeping in touch with frequent lunches with his IBM colleagues. Charlie was proceeded in death by his wife Erika. His is survived by his sons, Charlie (wife Lynn) of Keller, Texas, and Patrick (wife Nikki) of Dallas, Texas. He is also survived by his beloved grandchildren, Timothy Fernandez of Dallas, Christian (wife Meghan) of Fort Worth, Katheryn of Fort Worth, Alexander of Austin and Aoife of Dallas. In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to Catholic Charities or the American Diabetes Association in his honor. Services will be held at Mary Immaculate Church in Farmers Branch on January 12th at 1:00pm with a reception following at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Farmers Branch. The family would like to offer thanks for the kindness of his doctors and the nurses of Medical City Dallas, and the Nurses and staff at T. Boone Pickens Hospice. We are grateful for their compassion and care.