- Name
- Charles Combs
- Position
- Guard
- Class
- Senior
- Hometown (Last School)
- Happy, KY (Berea Academy)
- Ht
- 5'11"
- Wt
- 160
- Seasons
- 1935-36, 1936-37, 1937-38
- Birthday
- November 11, 1914
Obituary – Charles S. Combs, Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer (October 30, 2007)
Charles S. Combs, 92 of 1252 Castlewood Place, Owensboro, passed away on Sunday, Oct. 28, 207, at Owensboro Medical Health System.
He was born in Happy in Perry County to the late Col. Dilce and Leoma Shepard Combs. He was a member of First Christian Church and was an Army Air Corps veteran of World War II, where he reached the rank of captain. Dilce Combs Memorial High School was named after his father and Robert W. Combs Elementary School was named after his grandfather; both schools, of course, are located in Happy.
When Mr. Combs was 12 his family put him on a train and sent him to Berea to receive his education. He then went to the University of Kentucky where he graduated and eventually received his masters degree. While at U.K. he played basketball for four years under Coach Adolph Rupp, lettering his last two years. He was the oldest living player that had played for Coach Rupp. He also played baseball and ran track there. He was later drafted to play baseball for the Cincinnati Reds, but never did, because he went into service for World War II.
During his career, he was a teacher, principal, administrator, and coach for 43 years with the Kentucky school system. He was at Hartford High School, where he was principal and coach, Mayfield High School as a teacher and coach, and Vicco High School in Perry County. In Owensboro, where he eventually retired, he had been a teacher, and basketball and golf coach at Daviess County High School and also served as the director of pupil personnel for the county school system until retiring.
At the 2007 Kentucky State Boys Basketball Tournament at Rupp Arena in Lexington, he was named the 3rd Region representative in the “Court of Honor.” He has also been inducted into the Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s Coaches Hall of Fame. He was a Kentucky Colonel and was a former member of the Lions Club and the Kiwanis Club. He also formerly served on the City Council of Hartford, was an avid sports enthusiast especially of all UK sports, loved fishing, gardening, all types of animals and especially spending time with his grandchildren.
Surviving is his wife of 66 years, Nancy Evadean “Dean” Combs; his children, Charles Shepard “Chip” Combs II and his wife, Polly, of Freeport, Bahamas, Judy Anne Teague and her husband, Fred, of Columbus, Ind., and Robert Dilce “Bob” Combs and his wife, Lorraine, of Owensboro; six grandchildren, Charles Shepard Combs III, David Hardin Combs, William Shane Teague, Suzanne Teague Tansel, Krista Combs Thompson and Kelly Combs Hunt; 13 great-grandchildren; and a great-great-grandchild.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Glenn Funeral Home chapel. Burial will follow in Rosehill Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. today and after 9 a.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to the Owensboro-Daviess County Humane Society, P.O. Box 1075, Owensboro, KY 42302 or to the Daviess County Animal Shelter, 2620 Kentucky 81, Owensboro, KY 42301. Online condolences may be placed at www.glennfuneralhome.com.
