OBITUARY FOR CHARLES HENRY BRAND JR.
Charles Henry Brand, Jr. died on January 16, 2021, at the age of eighty-three. He was born at home in Decatur, Mississippi, to Charles Henry Brand and Zada Gray Wall Brand, the second of four children. Charlie married his wife Patricia “Pat” Stewart Brand sixty-two years ago on August 14, 1958, and the two of them shared a beautiful and happy life full of traveling, collecting antiques, and sharing a great love of each other, their family, and their many friendships.
A great teacher of the Bible, Charlie taught Sunday School in three churches throughout his life – Whitehaven Presbyterian, Broadway Baptist, and Bellevue Baptist, where he led the Brand Sunday School class faithfully for over thirty-two years. Many of the Brands’ dearest and deepest friendships are a result of the community of that Sunday School class. Charlie led many, many people to a deeper understanding of the Bible and its promises.
Charlie was a successful business man. In 1963, Charlie answered an ad in the newspaper and was hired by U.S. Motors as an outside salesman. Charlie called on every mill, gin, factory, plant, and packing house in the Southeast – every plant manager and maintenance man knew and liked Charlie. In 1973, U.S. Motors began to establish distributors. Charlie set up a distributor and went to work for them, and once again, Charlie was wildly successful. In 1983, Charlie founded Industrial Parts and Electric Motors. With a relatively small investment and an incredible work ethic, Charlie created a business on the pillars of generosity, kindness, good sense, and strong leadership. He built around him a team of smart, loyal people who have become so much more than employees – a team of friends who love and honor him and each other.
But most of all, Charlie was beloved by his family and friends. He was a man generous of both time and spirit. A man who knew how to tell a joke and how to laugh, a man who practiced what he preached and treated everyone with respect, a man slow to anger and quick to listen, give, and love.
In addition to his beloved Pat, Charlie is survived by his sisters, Shirley Cardwell of Sylacauga, AL, and Vicki Bounds (Buster) of Newton, MS, his daughter Shari Ray (Larry) and his son Charles Eric Brand (Penny), five grandchildren – Rainey Ray Segars (Coleton), Charles Joshua Brand (Kerri), William Josiah Brand (Keli), Benjamin Joseph Brand, and Mary Elizabeth Ann Brand, and seven great-grandchildren – Charles Elisha Brand, Lydia Jane Brand, William Jeremiah Brand, Teddy Taylor Segars, Ezra James Brand, Ruth Cecilia Brand, and Micah Oliver Brand.
Charlie is predeceased by his parents and his brother, Thomas Brand.
The visitation and service was held on Monday, January 25, 2021, at Crossroads Baptist Church, 125 S Houston Levee Rd, Eads, TN 38028.
In lieu of flowers, please send memorials to:
Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research
P.O. Box 5014
Hagerstown, MD 21741
O God our Father, Creator of all the living, we entrust to Your gentle care all those we love who have gone before us; and have gone to their rest in the hope of rising again. . . .
Eternal rest, grant unto Charlie Brand, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May the souls of the faithful departed
through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.
