Charles Javens

Waynesville, Charles Javens, 91, died on November 9, 2019, surrounded by his family.

Born on November 13, 1927 in Orlando, Florida, Charles was adopted at age 2 by a loving couple, Rollin and Effie Javens.  He grew up in a small town, Mount Dora, Florida where he had an idyllic life.  He struggled to read into his 8th year, but forthwith became a voracious reader throughout his life.  Although not a dedicated student in high school, he scored off-the-charts on the college entrance exams, and excelled in sports and music.

He received his Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree, and PhD in Romance Languages and Literatures from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Charles taught at the university level for 40 years, spending 30 years at the University of Miami, FL.  After hurricane Andrew hit South Florida in 1992, he and his wife Esmeralda retired and moved to Waynesville, NC.

His adventures are too many to recall, but here are a few: At age 17, he joined the US Army and fought bravely in the Pacific theater, including at Okinawa.  He was subsequently stationed in the Philippines where he first discovered his interest in languages.  In 1953, he received one of only two scholarships offered in the United States to teach English at the União Cultural in Sao Paulo, Brazil.  It was there that he met his future wife Esmeralda, a famous Brazilian film actress, who returned with him to the USA to be his bride.  They were married for almost 58 years.

He never stopped teaching to those willing to listen about history, linguistics, word origin, and opera.  He would live by the adage, “Often in error, never in doubt.”  He fought hard for life until the very end.

He is survived by a son, Charles Rollin Javens; a daughter, Luisa Maria VonKaler; and a devoted son-in-law Kris VonKaler.  Charles has four beautiful granddaughters, June Javens-Wolfe (Eric), Josephine Javens, Britain Javens and Isabella Javens.  He was overjoyed to see them all one last time before he passed away this month.  Charles was preceded in death by his parents and his loving wife, Esmeralda Javens.

The family will receive family and friends from 12:00-12:45 pm on Thursday, November 14th at Wells Funeral Home in Waynesville.  A graveside memorial and burial will follow at Greenhill Cemetery.

The care of Mr. Javens has been entrusted to Wells Funeral Homes.