Charles Edwin McKenzie

Charles E. McKenzie, 89, passed away on November 2nd, 2020.  He was born 8/24/1931 in Galax, Va. to the late George G. and Florence McKenzie.  His wife Margaret C. McKenzie, three sisters, two brothers and one grandson have preceded him in death. Surviving are his brother, John McKenzie of Galax, Va.; children: Terri McKenzie of Wytheville, Va.; Joel (Gayle) McKenzie of Sylva, NC; Barry (Kim) McKenzie of Salisbury, NC; stepchildren: Sharon Sorenson of Charlotte, NC; Bryan Grote of Mt. Airy, NC; Donna (Kirk) Ollis of Raleigh, NC; several grandchildren, step grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Charles served in the Navy during the Korean war from 1951 – 1955 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Saipan as an Electricians Mate.  After the Navy he worked on electronics for several companies. Then, in the 1960s he began a career in the pioneering days of the computer industry as a hardware engineer on mainframe systems. He worked for Xerox Data Systems, Honeywell, Data General, and retired from Wang Laboratories about 30 years later. He is to be cremated and a private burial service will be held with immediate family at a later date.