Obituary of Charles William Brinkman

Charles "Chuck" Brinkman, 59, passed away at his home in Benton Harbor on January 16, 2014. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Chuck moved to Connecticut as a child and later to the Chicago area, where he lived until he married Nancy Worline in 1972. They settled in St. Joseph Michigan where Chuck worked for Whirlpool, the Bendix Corporation, and Burkhardt - Weber America - as a Journeyman in machine repair and machinist, and later as a Field Service Engineer, traveling and working around the world. Chuck was artistic all his life and enjoyed making jewelry and pottery from an early age. He and his wife began their own jewelry business in St. Joseph - The Natural Gem, where their daughter Melissa also works. Chuck enjoyed the process of cutting gemstones and creating custom pieces for customers. He loved to sail and spent many hours on his boat sailing on Lake Michigan with friends and family. He crewed for several of the Tri-State sailboat races, and also served as the committee boat for the St. Joseph finish line. Chuck is survived by his wife, Nancy, daughter Melissa (Donny) Robinson, son Christopher (Stephanie), and 5 grandchildren; Jalen, Kayla and Jordan Robinson and Bridget and Samuel Brinkman, all of St. Joseph, Michigan. He will be greatly missed by all, including his friends, his customers, his Golden Retrievers - Logan and Newman, and Dave the cat. Services will be private. Memorial donations may be made to Hospice at Home, 4025 Health Park Lane, St. Joseph, MI 49085, to help cover expenses.