Charles "Charlie" Lay

March 13, 1935 - April 11, 2022

Charles Alexander Lay March 13, 1935 – April 11, 2022 Charles “Charlie” Alexander Lay, age 87, of Memphis, Tennessee transitioned peacefully from this life on April 11, 2022. Charles was born in Savannah, Tennessee and graduated from Central High School class of 1954. He attended Memphis State University prior to serving in the United States Army. After serving in the military Charles moved to Memphis and worked for Velsicol Chemical Company as a millwright, Memphis Rubber and Gasket as a salesman, and later became a partial owner of Fluid Management Company where he continued to work part time after his retirement. Charles was a 50 year Mason and an avid golfer and a long-time member of the Olive Branch Country Club. He made life-long friendships and will be remembered as a kind man who always had a story to tell. Charles loved life, his family, his friends, and God. He was a faithful member of Peachtree (formerly Crossroads) Methodist Church in Collierville, Tennessee. Predeceased by his wife of 64 years, Ernestine Coats Lay, his parents, Charlie Arch Lay and Mary Alexander Lay, and a sister, Doris Lay Smith, he leaves to cherish his memory two sons, Lee Charles Lay (Carolynn) of Fort Mill, South Carolina and William Tracy Lay of Memphis, Tennessee; five grandchildren, Julia Lay-Perry of Deridder, Louisiana, Angelica Lay Stedman (J. T.) of Eads, Tennessee, Jason Thomas Lay, Ryan Alexander Lay, and Adam Christopher Lay of Fort Mill, South Carolina; brother Dr. John Lay (Jane) and sister, Patsy Lay Wills of Savannah, Tennessee; a special niece, Lorri Magsig Hughes of Germantown, Tennessee; a special brother-in-law, Jerry Allen Coats of Savannah, Tennessee; a great-grandson, and a host of beloved family and friends. A memorial service and interment of ashes is planned for a date yet to be determined.