Charles Sharp, Jr., MD

Charles F. Sharp, Jr., MD

March 6, 1944 – July 15, 2025

Chuck was born and raised in Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida, the son of Charles F. Sharp Sr. and Banks Carter Wood Sharp. He attended Coral Gables High School where he got into some lighthearted mischief with his Boy Scout buddies. He joined the Army ROTC while at Vanderbilt University and was a swimmer on the varsity team. After graduating in 1966, he returned home to enroll at the University of Miami School of Medicine.

In his last year of medical school, he met a young Pan Am flight attendant named Inez Parker. They married in May of 1970, honeymooned in South Africa, and made it back just in time for his graduation ceremony. That summer, they moved out to LA, and he started postgraduate training at the Los Angeles County/University of Southern California School of Medicine. In 1972 the Army called him up for active duty where he served as Captain of a medical unit in Vietnam, for which he was awarded a bronze star. He remained in Vietnam after the ceasefire to help with U.N. humanitarian duties.

After returning to LA to complete his residency, he specialized in internal medicine with subspecialty training in the field of endocrinology and metabolic disease. He served as a postgraduate fellow in diabetics at Rancho Los Amigos/USC, followed by a research fellowship in endocrinology at Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center. He established the Center for Metabolic Bone Disease and Endocrinology, the private practice he would run for decades.

He also had a passion for teaching, so in 1988, he jumped at the invitation from Huntington Hospital to help lead their graduate medical education program in internal medicine. He was later elected to serve a term as President of the Medical Staff at Huntington from 2009-2011. In 2014 he closed the private office to practice at Keck Medicine of USC in Pasadena, retiring in 2019.

Outside of his professional career, you could find Chuck on the tennis courts, gardening, reading, spending time with friends and family, or giving tips on how to find the best bourbon or grill the perfect steak. Chuck had an enthusiasm for life that was contagious, and he will be greatly missed. 

Chuck is survived by his loving wife, Inez, his children, son Charlie and daughter Jillian (son-in-law Jim), and his grandchildren, Robert and Andrew.

Donations in his memory may be made to a charity of your choice.