Charliene Francis Arrington was born on October 27, 1955, in Welch, West Virginia, to the late Floyd and Mona Arrington.

Charliene moved to Cleveland, Ohio, as a young child and attended St. Thomas Aquinas, Hoban Dominican Academy, and graduated from Erieview Catholic High School in 1973.

Following her mother’s untimely death when she was 11 years old, she was raised by her loving grandmother, Charlie Mae Phillips. As a teenager, Charliene had a pet monkey named Aimo, whom she adored.

She went on to attend Kent State University. While at Kent State, she became a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. She was also an international scholar and studied at the University of Surrey at Guildford, England, and the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana, West Africa. She graduated from Kent State University with a degree in Political Science in 1977.

She met her husband, Harry Edwards, while he was coaching her nephew’s football team.
They were married on December 31, 1983, with close family and friends in an impromptu New Year’s Eve ceremony. They enjoyed hosting dinner parties, traveling together, and taking friends whitewater rafting. She became a mother to Harry’s son, Harry Edwards Jr., and in May 1985, they had twin daughters, Arianna and Arielle. She devoted her life to her husband and three children.

Charliene began working at the United States Postal Service in the early 1980s. During her time there, she was promoted several times and worked in many different branches before becoming the Manager of Customer Service Operations in Cleveland, Ohio. She retired from the Postal Service in 2012.

Charliene confessed Christ at an early age. She was a member of Cory United Methodist Church in her early adulthood. She sought to continue building a stronger relationship with Christ and began studying the Bible and the Word under various leaders. She taught Bible classes for the Daily Walk Bible Ministry and went on to lead a Christian book club, the Berean Book Club. She took leadership classes and became an ordained minister when she graduated as a licensed member of the International Chaplains and Human Rights, MM, Inc. Charliene began sharing her personal testimony and knowledge of the Word through speaking and ministering at churches, conferences, and engagements. Charliene was an Evangelist, Teacher, and Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She was the founder of Mended Spirit Ministries, a nonprofit organization that fosters healing through the Word of God. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, the Spirit led her to begin a prayer-line ministry called First Fruit Prayer Ministry, where prayer warriors gathered and held prayer every morning for several years and still meet and pray together today.

Charliene also had a passion for cooking, baking, hosting, and spending time with her sisters, family, and friends. Giving gifts was her love language, and she loved sending cards and giving gifts and trinkets to those she cared about.

She enjoyed being a mother and grandmother, where she was affectionately known as Grandma Charlie and Mimi. She loved spending time with her three grandsons and attending all of their events. They were her pride and joy, along with her children.

Charliene was willing to help anyone and could strike up a conversation anywhere, anytime. She was a spiritual guide, mentor, mother, sister, and friend to many.

On Friday, April 11th, after a brief illness, she was called home and passed away peacefully, surrounded by her two daughters, sisters, and close friends.

Charliene is preceded in death by her parents, Floyd and Mona Arrington; grandmother, Charlie Mae Phillips; brother, Jimmy Collins; and husband, Harry Edwards.

She leaves to cherish her memory: three children, Harry Edwards Jr., Arianna Hemphill (Robert), and Arielle Edwards; two sisters, Sheila Seaberry (Lorenzo) and Patricia Taylor; brother, John Collins; three grandsons, Robert Hemphill III, Trenton Hemphill, and Adrian Hemphill; nephews, Lorenzo Seaberry II, Eric Seaberry (Tracy), John Emmanuel Collins, and Bryant Taylor; nieces, Tacara Seaberry, Mona Boston, and Tonia Oakes; goddaughter, Ariah Walker; and a host of other relatives and special friends.