Charles "Charlie" Arslanian's Obituary
Charles “Charlie” Arslanian, age 71, passed away peacefully on May 17, 2025, in Jacksonville, Florida, surrounded by his family and friends. He was born on June 2, 1953, in Cleveland, Ohio to Nazareth (“Nat”) and Mary Arslanian.
Charles is survived by his sisters, Cheryl (Jim Gideon) of North Olmsted, Ohio, and Lucine King (Ken) of Moorestown, New Jersey; nieces Melanie Kugel (Josh) of Raleigh, North Carolina, Valerie Kette (Tyler), of Lakewood, Ohio, and Shannon King of Moorestown, New Jersey; nephew Robert King of Moorestown; great nephews, a great niece, Aunts Betty and Anne and several cousins and many dear friends including Jerry, Joe, Roy, and Heidi.
Charles was preceded in death by his father Nazareth (“Nat”) Arslanian, mother Mary (nee Kaprielian) Arslanian, brother George Arslanian and niece Taline King.
He was a devoted brother to his sisters and loving uncle to his nieces, taking time to travel back from Jacksonville to Ohio for nearly 30 years to spend time with all of them engaging in sports and games including softball, backgammon, ping pong and going to Indians games.
Charlie lived in Jacksonville for over 45 years. He and brother George started a successful dog racing business called C&G Enterprises. Charlie and George shared passions for dog racing, Cleveland sports and family.
Charlie spent his developmental years in Cleveland, Ohio, E. St. Louis, Illinois, and Dayton, Ohio. Growing up on Cleveland’s Finer Drive, he played baseball for hours and hours on the neighborhood field. He became so obsessed with playing that he would skip lunch to keep on playing. He graduated from Randallstown High School in 1971, where he played baseball and basketball. Charlie was the pitcher and coach of the men’s softball in the St. Gregory of Narek Armenian church team for 10 years leading the team to several championships, with his relentless ability to strategize against the other teams and assign the players to the position that was best for the team. Charlie graduated in 1974 with an Associate’s of Arts degree from Florida Junior College and then moved back to Cleveland, Ohio. In Cleveland, he ran a convenience store along with brother George before deciding to move back to Jacksonville in 1979.
Charlie was a 5-year pancreatic cancer survivor, and served as an inspiration to many others in the Pancreatic Cancer Support Group sponsored by The Gathering Place.
ALL SERVICES will be held on SATURDAY August 9, 2025, at St. Gregory of Narek Armenian Church, 678 Richmond Rd. Richmond Heights, Ohio 44143. VISITATION from 10:30 am to 11:30 am. MEMORIAL SERVICE 11:30 am – 12:00 pm, Interment Private. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made “In Memory of Charles Arslanian” to St. Gregory of Narek Armenian Church, 678 Richmond Rd., Richmond Heights, Ohio 44143 or to The Taline King Charitable Fund, 1000 Bishops Gate Blvd, Suite 201, Mount, Laurel, NJ 08054. Condolences may be left on Jardine Funeral Home's online guest book at https://www.jardinefh.com.
What’s your fondest memory of Charles?
What’s a lesson you learned from Charles?
Share a story where Charles' kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Charles you’ll never forget.
How did Charles make you smile?
