Charlie Tharp

I attended a funeral today for Charles Tharp, a 76 year-old man who died of a heart attack last week. "Charlie" was a church friend I've known most my life.

We were encouraged at the funeral to share our stories about Charlie -- our memories about his life and personality. If I had spoken, I would have mentioned two things specifically.

First, Charlie and I played softball together. He was a fastpitch pitcher for 50 years. I was a teammate for the last few years he was active, playing for a church team and various local company teams. What I remember most about our softball experiences was our trip to the Anamosa State Penitentiary. I was 17, and Charlie had a team that was going in to play against a team of inmates. It was a little intimidating ... it was the most hostile group of people I had ever played any sports activity in front of. But Charlie "protected" me -- told me what I could expect, and stayed close by throughout the afternoon. He took me under his wing and helped me have fun.

Secondly, and most importantly, Charlie was an encourager. As a young man just out of college, I returned to my home church and began to fill the role of songleader. I was high energy and modest talent (still am). Each Sunday, Charlie would come slap me on the back and say "Great job," and "Keep up the good work." Over the years, as I would become concerned about trying to make everyone happy with my songleading skills (a no-win proposition), Charlie would continue to encourage me. In recent years, on the two or three occasions I have gone back to visit my old church, Charlie would be one of the first to greet me and ask how things were going.

Encouragers are great people to have around. With so many things in life that can become discouraging from time to time, we need guys like Charlie to come tell us that we are appreciated. He did that for me, and I suspect many others.

I trust that Charlie, who accepted Christ as his Savior 50 years ago, is enjoying himself now. I'm glad to have known him and called him "friend."