Charles A. Baptista peacefully passed away in his sleep on December 21, 2024, at the age of 84. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, friend and farmer through and through. His two greatest passions in life were his family and farming.
Charles was born on May 29th, 1940, at Emanuel Hospital to Charlie and Emily Baptista. He grew up the oldest of five siblings. Charles graduated from Hughson High School in 1958, followed by a year at Modesto Junior College. He was drafted into the U.S. Army on October 10, 1963, where he would spend two years serving his country. He then went on to marry Kathy, and they shared two children, Shelly and Richard.
He began milking cows at the young age of eleven and spent his lifetime farming in the Turlock and Hughson areas. He enjoyed going out to breakfast nearly every morning with his uncles, brothers, nephews, and other local friends and farmers. He enjoyed trips to Pismo and the annual trip to Dumont Dunes each December to ride quads with his family. Charles loved spending time on his tractors and taking any of the kids in the family for rides whenever possible. He truly was the best and will be missed beyond words!
He is survived by his loving wife, Kathy “Wifee” Baptista; his daughter, Shelly Baptista-Williams (Dan); his son, Richard Baptista (Shelley); his four grand-children Austin Baptista, Spencer Voss (Trent), Charley Davis (Blake), and Andrew Baptista; four great-grandchildren Cash Voss, Luna Baptista, Arlo Voss, and Teegan Davis; his brothers John Baptista (Patsy), Stanley Baptista, Gary Baptista (Marianne); and his sister Sharon Bruno (Eddie). Charles was preceded in death by his parents, Charlie and Emily Baptista and sister-in-law, Kathleen Baptista.
Family and friends are invited to celebrate the life of Charles A. Baptista on Friday, January 3, 2025, at 1:00 pm at First United Methodist Church in Turlock, CA (1660 Arbor Way).
In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations be made in memory of Charles A. Baptista to Hughson FFA (7419 E. Whitmore Ave, Hughson, CA 95326; Attn: Kristen Maciel), Turlock FFA (Attn: The Roy and Mabel Baptista Scholarship, 1600 E. Canal Drive, Turlock, CA 95380) or UCSF Foundation, Attn: Dr. Small’s Prostate Cancer Research Fund (PO Box 45339, San Francisco, CA 94145, memo B0350).
