Charles Ray Nettles
1931-2019
Charles Ray Nettles passed away on October 31, 2019 after a lengthy battle with old age. He was born May 16, 1931 at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, La. Mr. Nettles was the son of Ivan Gayle Nettles and Lillian Nettles, both deceased. He was predeceased by his wife of 55 years, Marion Ulmer Nettles.
He is survived by his children Margaret Anne Nettles of Houston and Charles Ray Nettles Jr. (Cindy) of Austin. Additionally, he is survived by two grandchildren, Casey Clover Nettles (Mitchell Carpenter) of Fort Worth and Cole Sumner Nettles (Marissa) of San Antonio. He was especially excited about his great-grandson, Boden Haskell Carpenter of Fort Worth.
Ray, as his friends called him, graduated from Holy Cross High School in New Orleans (1948) and attended Tulane University.
He was quite active at St. Ignatius Loyola Catholic Church, serving on the Board of Governors and other parish activities. After his retirement, he became a Chaplain after several years of study. He served as chaplain for a number of years working at Methodist Hospital-Willowbrook and Northwest Hospital.
He was proud to have been the first and only employee of Chiquita Brands (United Fruit Company) to complete 50 years of continuous employment. During Mr. Nettles' career, which he began as office boy and ended as Regional Director, he spent time in New Orleans, Peoria, Memphis, Houston, Kansas City and McAllen. After retiring from Chiquita, he went to work as Vice President of New Business Development with Mountain King Potatoes.
He finally retired and stayed retired when he spent a year caring for his wife, Marion, prior to her death in 2003.
A Mass and reception in his memory will be held Friday, December 20, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Ignatius Loyola Catholic Church. In lieu of flowers, Mr. Nettles asked that donations should be sent to his favorite charity, St. Jude Children Hospital in Memphis.