Charles E. "Charlie" Ford, 84, retired Local 17 plumber of Tunica, MS, passed away Friday, September 27, 2013 at his home in Nel-Win camp on Tunica Cutoff following a fight against a range of health issues. Charlie was born April 11, 1929 in Memphis, TN. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Carolyn Tate Ford, a son, Charles Edison Ford, Jr., and a brother, Henry Lamar Ford of Portland, Oregon. He leaves behind two sisters, Nora (Tiny) Rolando of Phoenix, AZ and Joyce O''Bannon of Cordova, TN; brother, Ray G. Ford of Oxford, MS; daughter, Vicki Ford Moore of Southaven, MS; son, Ray W. Ford, also of Southaven; grandson, Daniel Ray Moore of Hernando, MS and a great-granddaughter, Jessica Moore, also of Hernando. Charlie grew up in the Highland Heights area of Memphis where he attended Treadwell School and Highland Heights Baptist Church. He worked at the Memphis Ford Plant, was also a water tower painter, a dump truck driver and an automobile mechanic before becoming a plumber''s helper, getting his plumbing license in 1958 and joined Local 17 in 1964. After retirement, in 1991, Charlie lived the rest of his life at Tunica Cutoff, a place he loved and called home. After the devastating flood of 2011, he was the first to rebuild at a height that will never be touched by flood waters again. Visitation will be 5-7 p.m., Tuesday, October 1 at Forest Hill South Funeral Home. Services will be at 10 a.m., Wednesday at the funeral home, with interment to follow in Forest Hill South Cemetery. Forest Hill South Funeral Home 901-346-3250