Father Charles Ara was born on August 27, 1930, to Lebanese parents Daniel and Margaret Ara. Charles lived a meaningful life, filled with love for his fellow man.

Affectionately known as Charlie, he first heard a calling to join the priesthood in the 6th grade. At the age of 14, he began his journey to ordination, enrolling in the Junior Seminary of the Los Angeles Archdiocese. Charlie was ordained a Catholic priest in 1956, upon his graduation with a B.A. in Philosophy.

During his senior year, his history professor, Father Bernard McCoy, had him do a term paper on the Taft-Hartley law. This sparked Charlie’s interest in the labor movement and workers’ rights; his social conscience was awakened. He joined the March on Washington in 1963, where he marched in line with Jackie Robinson and watched Martin Luther King Jr give the “I Have A Dream” speech. He persuaded grocery store owners to not sell grapes during the grape boycott that Cesar Chavez led in 1963. He used his position to preach the importance of loving your neighbor, no matter the color of their skin.

For 15 years, his ministry took him to five parishes in Southern California, including: St. Lawrence Martyr in Redondo Beach, St. Finbar in Burbank, Visitation in Westchester, All Saints in El Sereno, and St Cecelia in Tustin.

Always a trailblazer and ahead of his time, Charlie’s civil rights activities ruffled the feathers of leadership within the church. Church leaders reassigned Charlie to a new parish each time he got too involved in the local civil rights activities. But this never stopped him from using his voice to help those without a voice. A fellow activist within St Cecilia (who later became his wife) educated Charlie that the most impactful civil rights action was happening outside of the church.

In 1970, Charlie felt the calling of love, and wed his beloved Shirley Jean. For 55 years, they shared love and built a life together as social activists. Their marriage blessed them with five children and eight grandchildren. Charlie loved to spend time with his family at baseball games and having big, loud family meals together.

As a married Catholic priest, Charlie continued to perform weddings outside of the church, in God’s cathedral, for those who could not or did not want to get married in the church. His lively wedding ceremonies made him a popular priest in Southern California for 50 years. He performed over 10,000 weddings, including for several Hollywood legends, which landed him on late-night talk shows, sharing wedding stories of famous people.

Charlie earned his PhD in Psychology in 1977 and became a Marriage, Family, and Child psychologist. He wrote a book on relationships: The Grass is Greener Where it’s Watered. He built the Hubert Humphrey Democratic Club in Cerritos, CA. He was a member of the Rotary and Optimists Clubs. He was a speaker, teacher, political activist, father, grandfather and husband.

Charlie died in his home in Palm Desert on November 22, 2025. He was 95 years young! He is survived by his wife Shirley, and his five children (Martin, Jose, Rana, Dawna, Matthew), eight grandchildren, three sisters (Dory, Mary, Barbara), and so many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Send to someone

Share this obituary with others

https://everloved.com/life-of/charles-ara/obituary/

Copy