Charles Riley Cary was born on September 29, 1929, in Arkansas City, Kansas. He entered a world marked by uncertainty, as the stock market crash that ushered in the Great Depression had occurred just a month earlier. One of his earliest memories was from the mid-1930s, when “a clean-looking man came to our back door, not the front, asking my mother if there was any work he could do for a sandwich. My mother made the man a sandwich and gave it to him with tears in her eyes.” Charles later reflected that those difficult years taught people “to think economically, to be resourceful, and to thank the Lord for the things they have.” It was a lesson he carried with him throughout his 96 years of life.

Growing up in rural Kansas, Charles learned to hunt, sometimes shooting jackrabbits with his father from the windows of a crank-start car. His father worked as an executive for Shell Oil, and the family moved often, resulting in Charles attending seven different schools before high school. One of the strongest influences in his early life was Sister Mary Ignace at Sacred Heart parochial school, whom he affectionately described as “a tough old battleaxe whose passion was evidently English grammar.” She drilled into him a lifelong appreciation for the beauty and nuances of the English language. By the time he entered college, he was exempted from English 101 because of his advanced skills, and he would later become a gifted and accomplished writer…a veritable wordsmith.

Charles attended the University of Illinois for one year before enlisting in the U.S. Navy to fulfill the military service that would likely have been required after graduation. He served as a Mast Yeoman aboard the USS Midway, an impressive aircraft carrier, before returning to the University of Illinois, where he completed his studies as an English major with a minor in French.

After graduating, Charles began his career as a copy editor for Buchen Advertising Agency in Chicago, where a coworker introduced him to his future wife, Jean Wiley. They married in 1958. Charles later joined Connor-Sager Associates as an account executive. There, he wrote radio advertisements that were broadcast during Chicago Cubs games, sparking a lifelong love of baseball while watching from the broadcaster’s booth. One of his print advertisements also earned first place in an industrial advertising competition.

While living in Aurora, Illinois, Charles and Jean welcomed their three sons — Philip, Calvin, and Christopher. Soon afterward, he joined Vic Maitland & Associates and enthusiastically embraced a move to sunny South Florida, where he created radio and print advertising campaigns for countless clients. After more than a decade with the firm, he founded Chaz Cary Advertising, earning several Addy Awards over the ensuing 13 years for his creative radio advertising.

Later in life, Charles closed his agency and continued working until the age of 76 with the Broward County Library Adult Literacy Program. There, he conducted lectures for volunteer tutors and helped them develop effective teaching methods and materials. His dedication to literacy and service earned national recognition when his submission to the “Act of Caring” competition won first place, leading to an award ceremony in Washington, D.C.

In retirement, Charles enjoyed tennis, bridge, jazz music, reading, daily crossword puzzles, birdwatching, following sports with enthusiasm, and – of course – cocktail hour. Above all, he cherished time with his wife and family. He was genuinely kind to everyone he met and was especially known for his wit and sense of humor. One year, he began his Christmas letter with: “After our tour of Italy and our enjoyment of the French Riviera, we stayed in a castle with friends south of Bangkok…we wish you could have been there with us. In fact, I wish we had been there too; I just made all that up.”

At the age of 96, Charles passed peacefully at home, surrounded by his loving family. His legacy of kindness, warmth, humor, and joy for life lives on, as does the love he shared with his beloved wife, Jean, whom he now joins in heaven.

In a 16-page memoir written at age 90, Charles wrote, “I was taught to respect my elders, but I can’t find any.”

Charles is survived by his three sons, Philip, Calvin, and Christopher, as well as several beloved pets.