Charles James Southard Sr., son of the late Cletus Clifton Southard and Ollie Faye Martin Southard, was born on November 1, 1952, in Kankakee, Illinois, and departed this life on January 26, 2024, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, at the age of 71 years.

Mr. Southard was a Veteran of the United States Army and a resident of Bernie, Missouri. He was a former farmer and mechanic.

On January 12, 1974, in Bloomfield, Missouri, he was united in marriage to Elizabeth Abbott. Mrs. Southard survives of their home in Bernie.

Along with his wife, he is survived by two sons, Charles “Peewee” Southard Jr. and Jimmy Southard both of Bernie, Missouri; by three daughters, Betty Avila-Prado of Piggott, Arkansas, Rose Southard of Malden, Missouri, and Sheila Crenshaw of Glasgow, Kentucky; by his brother, Clifton “Bubba” Southard and wife Peggy of Canalou, Missouri; by two sisters, Carolyn Hughes and husband Robert of Canalou, Missouri, and Hazel Cantrell of Malden, Missouri; and by thirteen grandchildren, and twelve great-grandchildren.

Other than by his parents, he was preceded in death by three sisters, Vicki May Brant, Linda Robinson, and Hetty Harper.

Visitation will be held at Mathis Funeral Home in Bernie on Wednesday, January 31, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. Funeral services will then be conducted in the Mathis Funeral Home Chapel on Wednesday, January 31, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow in the Missouri State Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield.

Mathis Funeral Home in Bernie is assisting with arrangements.