CHARLES E. LANHAM OBITUARY
Son of a single mother, IU’s 1953 Bachelor of the Year, Air Force lieutenant, and business owner, Charles Edward Lanham died May 28, 2023, at age 91. Charlie was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on March 10, 1932, to Thomas and Frances Glenn Lanham. Frances and Charlie, still an infant, soon moved to Montgomery, Alabama, where she raised him as a single mother. He described being an only child living on the outskirts of Montgomery as “perfect,” and recalled driving a late model Chevy “the size of Delaware” to the store–by himself, as a 10-year-old–just to pick up a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk. Charlie and Frances moved to Evansville during Charlie’s freshman year in high school. He was both a cheerleader and student body president at Reitz High School. In his junior year, he was elected Governor of Hoosier Boys State, and then Attorney General of Boys Nation. In the autumn of 1950, he enrolled at Indiana University where, he admitted, his academic effort and campus activities may have been “out of balance.” He joined Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity, and during his sophomore year met Rosemary McKee at the second running of IU’s Little 500. He and Rosemary married in the fall of his senior year. For over five decades, Rosie and Charlie embraced their family and friends with love and laughter. Upon graduation, Charlie completed his Air Force training, and the young couple was thrilled to learn his first duty station was a U.S. Air Force base outside London. When asked what he did in the Air Force, he said, “I was in charge of selling military scrap to the Brits. But what I remember most was badminton with the colonel and weekend trips with Rosie around England and Europe.” Their son, Kyle, was born during their time in England. Upon discharge from the Air Force, the family moved briefly to Hartford City, Indiana, where their daughter, Lisa, was born. There he began his career as a garage door salesman with The Overhead Door Company. Eventually, his business interests included CB radios, truck stops, movie theaters, and a chain of drug stores. Charlie was one of the original investors in the ABA’s Indiana Pacers. Charlie was a proud Indiana Hoosier, serving on the Indiana University Foundation Board of Directors, the Dean’s Advisory Council for the School of Business, and the President’s Advisory Council. He was honored as a Sagamore of the Wabash, a Kentucky Colonel, and a 33rd Degree Mason. He loved Indiana impressionist painters, movies and Broadway musicals, experiencing new cultures, and key lime pie. But more than anything, he loved people. Charlie treasured every person he met. Charlie was predeceased by his wife, Rosemary McKee Lanham, and niece, Saralee Schacht Dugdale. He is survived by son Kyle Lanham (Sally); daughter Lisa Lanham (Mike Halstead, and his children, Zach and Kathryn); grandchildren Henry Lanham and Emma Lanham Copsey (Brian); great-grandson, Charles Copsey; nephews Clifford and Paul Schacht (Cheryl), and Jeff Dugdale; great niece Jessica Olimb (Eric); great nephews Paul and Greg Dugdale, and Jonathan Schacht; great, great nephew, Anders Olimb; and goddaughters Dorothy Lanham Blackmun and Tricia Blackmun Koff. Charlie’s family is grateful for the loving care provided by Clayton Stewart over the last three years and for Linda Van Hoose and Fabrice Bizimana, and the whole team at Senior1Care. A calling will be held at McFarland Hall at Second Presbyterian Church, 7700 North Meridian, Indianapolis, on Sunday, June 4, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. A funeral service will be held in the sanctuary of the church on Monday, June 5, at 11:00 a.m.
Memorial gifts may be made to Goodwill Foundation of Central and Southern Indiana, 1635 W. Michigan Street, 46222 (www.goodwillindy.org). Arrangements entrusted to Albertsons Mortuary, Indianapolis.