Charles Ralph Abbey, age 55, was the son of Gerald and Dolores (Foster) Abbey of Longmont, Colorado, and El Dorado, Kansas, respectively, and the brother of Cecilia Luisa Abbey of Kansas City, Missouri. He was born in Caracas, Venezuela on December 10, 1959, and lived in Bogota, Colombia; and in Gran Canaria and Madrid, Spain, where he graduated from high school in 1977, only to return to Gran Canaria to work as a flight coordinator for an oil drilling supply company. As a young boy and teenager, Charlie was known for his impish grin, his unbridled energy and his mischievous nature, which led to pranks such placing the occasional stink bomb on an unsuspecting teacher’s classroom chair; egging a city bus passing by (and missing it, hitting the neighbor’s car, instead- and no, the neighbor was a good sport and never told his parents); falling into a pool of live lobsters because he was playing too close to the edge; and engaging in good-natured food fights with patrons at area restaurants, giggling the entire time. Fluent in both Spanish and English, Charlie had a wide circle of Spanish- and English-speaking friends with whom he made general mischief, when not playing marbles, soccer, baseball and tackle football, where, in the words of a childhood friend, “ He never backed down from taking on the biggest guys. He was the kind that would ‘empty his tank’ in everything he did. Full throttle!” He was an excellent swimmer, spending hours at the beach and in area pools; he rode horses—and the occasional camel; he had a great ear for music and played both guitar and piano; and he almost always won the ping-pong matches that he played with his dad and friends, on the family’s ping-pong table set up in the back yard. In 1979, Charles enlisted in the United States Navy, where he was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, and was honorably discharged. That diagnosis ushered in a long, difficult chapter in his life. He resettled in Lawrence, Kansas to be close to his sister, and after years of peaks and valleys, including long-term internment at various state hospitals throughout Kansas, he eventually found his footing in Topeka, where he re-established community, re-forged friendships, found meaningful employment and fully embraced his passion for playing golf. Charles was a gentle, caring and spirited human being who, unlike many of us, knew who he was, knew what he could be, lived up to his potential, and exuded positivity and hopefulness to all who came in contact with him—and his influence on those with whom he interacted will ripple down through the years. He is survived by his daughter Elizabeth, who was given up for adoption at birth 25 years ago in Lawrence, Kansas; his sister, Cecilia Abbey; his brother-in-law, Michael Dix; his best friend, Clifford Sweet; his girlfriend, Deanne Twitter; a community of friends from the Victory City Church and the Highland Park United Methodist Church in Topeka; many work associates and loving friends in Topeka, Kansas City, Spain and throughout the United States; and staff members and clients at various public golf courses throughout the Topeka area, where he and Cliff spent many happy days of comradeship over the past 15 years or so. He slipped away in his sleep, early in the morning, April 11, 2015, and joined his parents on the other side. All will miss his enthusiasm, generosity, openness, tenacity, and optimism. A celebration of his life will be held at the Highland Park United Methodist Church in Topeka, 4:00pm-6:00pm, on Saturday, May 16, 2015. In lieu of flowers, his family suggests contributions to Breakthrough House, Topeka, Kansas, and the two churches that Charles attended.