Christopher Doyle

Christopher Doyle, 82, of Charlotte, passed away as he wished, peacefully at home on All Saints Day, Saturday, November 1, 2025.

Christy (to his Irish family), was born in Dublin, Ireland on the ninth of December in 1942 to the late Christopher Joseph Doyle and Mary Higgins Doyle. In addition to his parents, Chris was preceded in death by 3 infant siblings, Esther, May, & Austin; his oldest brother, Tommy Doyle; and his sisters, Elsie, Irene, and Veronica.

Christopher had a large family, with 8 siblings. The family was of lean beginnings, but little Christy, with his white-blonde hair, took care of his younger siblings. He played with them and made sure they had what they needed, and he had an unparalleled work ethic.

Chris was quite a gifted footballer, too, as it were. He played for Ireland, and several other countries. His talents were awarded, and articles were published in newspapers across Europe. He continued to play in Canada, after the family immigrated from Ireland, and eventually played with the Chicago Kickers.

Uncle Christy was a Superhero across Canada and Coach Doyle was a Superhero in the States. Chris was a big advocate of physical fitness, and he always had time for the nieces, nephews, cousins, and everyone’s kids. While it would be impossible to list all the monumentally important children in “Opa’s” life, it is vitally important to list these.

In Chicago, Chris met Helen, who was from North Carolina. Chris and Helen adopted Lorna, after a chance conversation with one of Chris’ coworkers. His niece was having a baby and the adoption agency said they would put the children in different families if she had twins. Chris and Helen cancelled the adoption agency contract they had, and privately adopted a 10+ pound Lorna, not twins. Four years later, Helen received a call from a family friend who worked at the hospital and said there was a baby girl who had been born and was available for adoption. A few days later, they adopted Kim. Chris and Helen doted on them both more than anyone could imagine.

Chris and Helen moved to North Carolina and built Doyle Construction, a residential general construction company that was very successful for many years. Chris and Helen divorced, but both remained in North Carolina.

Christopher met Charlotte Sobieraj in the early 1990s. They married on St. Patrick's Day, March 17th, 1995. Shortly after, Christopher and Charlotte became “Opa and Oma,” which they still are today. Chris and Charlotte share 5 children.

Christopher is survived by his beloved wife of 30 years, Charlotte Doyle; two daughters, Lorna Kaplan (Rick) of Charlotte, and Kim TaqTaq (Rami) of Windsor, Canada; stepdaughter, Denise Cole (Chuck Allen) of Charlotte; stepsons, Jim Sobieraj (Marbeth) of Frederick, Maryland, and Josef Sobieraj (Aurora) of Amarillo, Texas. He is also survived by 9 grandchildren, whom he loved deeply and served as a mentor of hard work and responsibility: Jamie Felts (Karma), Savanna Kaplan (James Liddic), Matthew TaqTaq, Cameron Cole, Payton Cole (Debby), Addy Cole, Indigo Sobieraj, and Simon and Rosie Sobieraj; 4 great-grandchildren; siblings, Joan Teate (Barry) of England, Esther Doyle of Dublin, Ireland, Bridget Doyle of Toronto, Canada, and Henry Doyle (Eileen) of B.C., Canada.

Christopher's Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, November 29, 2025. The memorial service will be held at 2:00 pm in the funeral home chapel. The service will be streamed live  https://video.ibm.com/hartsell-funeral-home-harrisburg-nc1. Following the service, please join the Doyle family in the funeral home reception hall. To honor our favorite Irishman, please wear something green.

Memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children's Hospital; https://www.stjude.org/ . Flowers are welcome.

Christopher will be remembered. He took care of people. He took care of things. He worked hard and loved hard.

As he stated a few days ago, “When the referee blows the last whistle, Game Over.”

Game well played. You won the Match.

Hartsell Funeral Home of Harrisburg is serving the Doyle family.