Obituary of Charles J. Lacina

Charles J. “Chuck” Lacina, 60, lifetime resident of Iowa City, passed away Friday, March 30, 2018 surrounded by his family.

Funeral mass will be held 10:30 Thursday, April 5th at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church with burial to follow at Memory Gardens Cemetery.  A vigil service will begin at 4 pm Wednesday at the Gay & Ciha Funeral Service, where a time of visitation will follow the vigil service until 7 pm.  In lieu of flowers, memorials in Chuck’s memory may be directed to Systems Unlimited or GiGi’s Playhouse Down Syndrome Achievement Center.

Chuck was born October 15, 1957; the son of Lawrence and Edith (Hotka) Lacina.  He attended school at the Nelson School and worked many years with Goodwill Industries at local businesses.  Chuck was a lover of the finer things in life-chocolate fudge, music, birthday parties, Halloween, pizza, and of course Christmas!  Chuck enjoyed time spent at the Iowa City Recreation Center dances, bowling, Camp Courageous, participating in Special Olympics and the SoundReach Choir.

He was blessed with two families; his biological family as well as his System’s family.  His siblings include, Anne Webber (Ivan) of West Des Moines, Janet Carlson (Gerry) of Arlington, WA, Dale Lacina (Mary) of Davenport, Laura Swiser (Chris) of Cedar Rapids and Clarine Halvorsen (Jerry) of Iowa City; nieces and nephews, Sarah, Justin, Erika, Kristin, Bridget, Shaun, Adam, Nicole, Nathan, Tamsen and Jake as well as all the staff and residents at his System’s home.

Chuck was preceded in death by his parents; niece, Jennifer Halvorsen and great-niece, Clara Marie Bethman.

Chuck’s family would like to recognize and thank all the loving, caring staff, who became family that provided Chuck with his years of care and support from System’s Unlimited here in Iowa City.