Charles Kempf

Charles Edward Kempf left this world for his next adventure on March 26, 2021. He was born Nov. 2, 1962 in Boonville, Missouri and made it his business to get out of there as quickly as he could.

Charles was a painter by trade, but to say he was just “a painter” is to miss his true talent. He approached the business of painting like a fine art student and had the trained eye of a master craftsman. During his years in Amarillo, Charles transformed hundreds of houses into showplaces of both beauty and comfort with his sense of color and attention to detail. In addition to painting their homes, he was a skilled problem solver and craftsman whom his many customers came to rely upon to always find an answer to “how” or “can we”? His patience, humor and quiet manner caused him to become a beloved friend and an adopted member of many families in Amarillo.

Before he chose painting as his work, he had graduated with honors in business finance from the University of Missouri Kansas City. In 1990 he was initiated into the national honor society Phi Kappa Phi. He later worked as a bank examiner with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, traveling the country handling audits of numerous banks. He came to realize the corporate world was not his destiny and eventually started his own business in Amarillo after journeys to Peru, Mexico and other places where he loved to visit the ruins of ancient cultures.

He was a fierce advocate for the homeless in Amarillo having experienced a period of homelessness himself as a younger man and worked with supporters of Amarillo Housing First in its efforts to provide housing. He was a passionate defender of injustice wherever he saw it and was unafraid to demand public figures do the same. (As might be expected, this did not cause him to be loved by everyone, particularly some elected officials. It did, however, endear him to his friends.)

Charles, who had been ill for many months, asked to be cremated and his ashes scattered on a beach. No one knows where the wind and sea will take him, but we are assured his journey isn’t over and he will be a continuing presence in our lives.

He is survived by Connie Bhasker, his devoted supporter and dearest friend for many years, and Dolores Jackson, both of whom felt a special calling to care for him until his passing. Additional family members from his adopted-by-choice families include the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Mrs. Jackson: Vanessa Maples, Jennifer Free, Eric, Chad, Jillian, Holly, Kylee, Kynsley, Jaxson, Maddox, Mia, Eiden, Jack, and Wyatt. Also included among his Amarillo family members are: Rusty Donaldson, Ed Van Petten, Kay Craighead, Shanny and David Dow, Gail and Tommy Davis, Nicole Poulain, Emily Lomax, Tony Brockman, Kyle and Cindy Singleton, Dr. Thomas “Sandy” Winston and Dawn Dressler, Justin Westmoreland, Mark Julian, Justina Green and Bob and Vickie Ward.

A celebration of life for Charles will take place Saturday May 1, 2021 at 5:00 pm at Ellwood Park, southwest corner. Please bring a lawn chair. Memorial donations may be made to Amarillo Housing First, 207 N. Tyler St., Amarillo, Tx. 79107.