Charlie Gregory

Charlie Carter Gregory

Our beloved father, Charlie Carter Gregory, 71, of Aransas Pass, Texas, passed away on March 18, 2021.

He was born and raised in Parsons, Kansas, and met the love of his life, our mom, Carol Jean Auvigne. Married in 1970, he worked the railroad to provide for her and their first child, Charlie, while putting himself through Pittsburg State University to earn his bachelor's degree in Business. He kicked off his career at Mobil Oil and multiple moves across the states ensued. Dad was hired by Acushnet in 1978 and the Gregory family called Arlington, Texas home for over 20 years. While in Arlington, Dad co-founded Zatec. As a savvy businessman, our entrepreneur father was able to sell Zatec in 1999. This allowed Mom and Dad to retire in Aransas Pass, Texas, and enjoy the outdoors together. However, our hardworking father could not truly stay retired. Mom and Dad owned car washes, boat storage business and even built and sold five homes during their retirement.

Our father was a small-town Kansas kid who yearned for the ocean and the outdoors. He was an avid tennis player and hit the courts multiple times a week throughout his adult life. His passion was being on the water. A self-taught sailor, for 40 years he loved to race and take out friends and family for pleasure. Mom and Dad spent many vacations sailing together. Dad also enjoyed fishing for the last 20 years in the gulf coast with some of his best friends.

But most importantly, Dad was a great husband, father, and grandfather.  His love for our Mom was unconditional and we grew up with parents who were inseparable best friends. He was a wonderful, loving father and provided us structure, guidance, support, and endless love. To his eight grandchildren, their PaPa was the world. He passed on his love for fishing and sailing to them all. He spent countless hours proudly watching them play tennis, baseball, softball, soccer, run track, and perform in plays and dance. During the pandemic, he was most excited to get back to spending time and traveling again with family and friends.

He is preceded in death by his parents Ruby Dexter and Charlie Gregory and in-laws Gene and Mary Ellen Auvigne.

He is survived by his best friend and loving wife of 50 years, Carol Jean Gregory, and their faithful dog, Piper; daughter, Jill Margaret (Jordan) Blankenship, their two sons Beau Carter and Ty Matthew and their dog Mac; daughter, Kelly Jean (Elda Garcia) Manlove and her children Kacey Addison and Jake Carter and their dog Lupita; son, Charles Carter (Carrie) Gregory and their four daughters Samantha Jo, Cali Jean, Grace Ellen, Rylee Jane and their two dogs Billie and Mavis; sisters, Sharon (Bob) Burns and Marsha (Jim) Autrey; in-laws, LeAnn and Ron Johnson, Dick and Sherri Auvigne, Linda and Ken Dobbs, Susan and Brent Williams, Jule and Ricky Ake, and numerous nieces and nephews.

We invite you to celebrate his life with us on April 9th at 3:00 pm at Fulton Convention Center (Paws & Taws) 402 North Fulton Beach Rd. Fulton, Texas 78358.

Dad was passionate about preserving our beautiful habitat.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Sea Turtle Rescue Fund.

Friends of the ARK

PO Box 755

Port Aransas, Texas 78373

(361) 332-6361         friends@friendsoftheark.org

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