Charles Flowers

Charles E. Flowers, Jr., known to his friends as "Charlie" passed away peacefully on Wednesday, November 8, 2006. He was born May 4, 1934 in Charlotte, North Carolina, the son of Charles Edward Flowers, Sr. and Katherine Emmert Range. He attended public schools in North Carolina. He joined the United States Navy in 1953 and proudly served his country during the Korean Conflict. He earned a BA from Carson-Newman College in 1962 and a M.A. from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 1973. He moved to Bradley County in 1962, where he lived for the next forty-four years. Charlie served the people of Bradley County well, as a teacher at Bradley Central High School and as principal of Hopewell Elementary School until his retirement in 1989. He joined the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary in 1994, achieving the rank of Division Captain. Charlie was an avid hunter and fisherman and shared his love for the outdoors by teaching hunter safety courses. He was a friend and a mentor to young and old alike and never missed an opportunity to help those in need. Charlie is survived by two sons, Charles E. Flowers III and his wife, Cindy of Chapel Hill, North Carolina and James Raymond Flowers and wife, Sue of Colorado Springs, Colorado; by his sister, Ruth Emmert Berry of Little Rock, Arkansas; by his four beloved grandchildren, Katherine Amy Flowers, Sarah Dorothy Flowers of Chapel Hill, North Carolina and Samuel James Flowers and Lauren Amelia Flowers of Colorado Springs, Colorado; and by his loving companion, Joy Seay and by his many close friends, colleagues and former students. A Celebration of Life Service will be conducted at 11:00 a.m. Saturday in the chapel of Ralph Buckner Funeral Home with Reverend Bill Walker officiating. A white dove release ceremony will conclude the service. His family will receive friends from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. His family requests that in lieu of flowers memorials be made to the Cleveland/Bradley United Way, PO Box 193, Cleveland TN 37364.