Charles Maurice Munn

Charles Maurice Munn, 74

Born on September 8, 1952, set free on November 2, 2026.

It is extremely difficult to find words that carry enough weight to describe the man that Charley Munn was. Without a doubt, he was a man of great integrity, incredible inner strength and confidence, who had an immense faith and reverence for God, a deep love and commitment to his family and love for the many people who were blessed to be called his friend. His wonderful humor, quick wit, steady and guiding hand, comforting voice, and gentle kindness will be missed by many, many people.

His life was anything but ordinary and if you were lucky to hear his stories, you knew that. Charley was born in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, to Mary and Earl (“Bud”) Munn. He grew up in Robbinsdale with 11 brothers and sisters in a home filled with laughter. He was so proud of his family who played a very important role in his development. As the youngest son, he always said he learned the most from “the oldest.” He had a very close relationship with his mom who was an important figure in shaping and defining who he was. He loved playing sports, particularly football, baseball, and basketball and this, years later, turned into a passion and a tremendous talent for coaching kids in baseball, basketball, and football and he was an inspiration to many that he coached. He had a gift for seeing the potential in others and supporting their growth and self-confidence.

Not what most would consider the traditional “good student,” he succeeded in school through his humor, great relationships with teachers, and true talent in quick thinking to get out of situations with ease. He always said, “I only asked for a “C,” for Charley.” He had such a knack for story-telling and entertaining that he was asked to be a guest speaker by a teacher, just because the instructor enjoyed listening to his stories. He had a special respect for and a close friendship with his teacher, Sister Barbara, who also played a special part in his life at a young age. He loved the friends that he made and maintained these friendships throughout his life. He loved sharing stories from his school days.

He tried out for the Kansas City Royals and made it past the first round of tryouts but never got to see it through because he was instead drafted into the US Army. He wondered what life would have been like as a pro baseball player as he strongly believed he had a good chance. Then he would quickly say, “I wouldn’t have met your mother and none of you (his kids) would have been in my life. I am so happy how this turned out.” His family was everything to him.

He served in the US Army from July of 1972 until July of 1974. In true Charley fashion, he took the military’s vocational aptitude test to determine his area of specialty without reading a single question on the test and yet scored highest of anyone in the class in meteorology. He was sent to school for meteorology and became the team leader in artillery ballistic plotting (wind plotting) for military flights. With his talent in “reading the sky,” he later became the family’s personal and very reliable meteorologist. While in the military, he heavily relied on his faith and ability to make things fun. He was a natural-born leader and was very well-respected and admired by many, including those in higher ranks.

He met Carol at a family Saint Patrick’s Day party and said that it was when he stood up from picking a fork up that he dropped that he first noticed her and felt “a rush go through me, from my stomach,” and believed that he would marry her. They went on to have 5 children and together envisioned creating a tight-knit family with God as central importance in their home. They made many sacrifices together for their children in support of their dream. There was always laughter in the home growing up and Pa taught us from young ages about life, personal integrity, to “always be yourself,” to help someone if you can, to be positive and to keep that positivity no matter what, and to “always keep God as number one in your life.” His values were instilled into each of his kids. He was the family’s rock and guiding hand: solid, strong, steady, and dependable and their unwavering source of comfort with his gentleness and quiet reassurance.

His love of family is most apparent in his love for his grandchildren. He was so proud to say that he had 16 grandkids. He would say to Carol, “Can you believe it? We are responsible for 21 lives, our kids and grandkids. It all started with us.” His grandkids were so special to him and brought him so much joy. Each grandchild was recognized by him for who they were and he took an interest in each, recognizing and appreciating their unique strengths and personalities. There was a lot of love and a lot of noise at Charley Munn’s family gatherings and he could often be seen just sitting back and taking it in. Of all the things Charley was proud of, he was most proud of his family.

Charley is survived by his wife of 45 years, Carol Munn, his children Dan (Dana) Munn, Melissa (Myles) Albrecht, Lucas (Jamie) Munn, Sam (Taylor) Munn, and Ben (Ashley) Munn, 16 grandchildren, brothers and sisters Mary Jo Fernelius, Jean (Jim) Egan, Teresa (Tom) Heifort, and Karen (Pete) Kiley, Joe (Bonnie) Munn, Ken Munn, and Tim Munn, and sister-in-law Pauline (Terry) Munn, many nieces and nephews, grand nieces and nephews, and great grand nieces and nephews, and many friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Earl Munn Sr. and Mary Munn, brothers Earl Munn Jr. (Bud), Ron Munn, and Terry Munn, his sister Margaret Munn, sisters-in-law Rita Munn (Bud) and Lori Munn (Ron), brother-in-law Tom Fernelius (Mary Jo) and nephew Joseph Munn Jr.

A visitation will be held on Friday, November 13th at 4PM with a service starting at 6PM at Gearty-Delmore Robbinsdale Chapel, 3888 West Broadway. Christian burial Saturday, November 14th at 10 AM at St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Maple Grove.

We will be celebrating his blessed and well-lived life and the incredible man that Charley was in the way he would have wanted- a laid-back party next summer. Date and time to be determined. All are welcome. More information to follow late spring, 2027.