Lieutenant Commander Charles Coates Gregory Jr.

Born March 7, 1934, in Charleston, West Virginia, to Charles and Myrtle Gregory, he graduated from Stonewall Jackson High School in 1951. He attended the University of Cincinnati and West Virginia State College before entering the U.S. Navy Aviation Cadet Program.

Before leaving for flight training, he met Georgiana Ruth Brooks through a mutual friend in Charleston. They soon fell in love and were married in Pensacola, Florida, on December 23, 1955. They celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary in 2025.

Gregory earned his Naval Aviator Wings of Gold after completing Pre-Flight School in Pensacola and advanced flight training at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, in August 1956.

His early assignments included Anti-Submarine Squadron 21 (VS-21) at Naval Air Station North Island, Coronado, California, with deployments aboard the aircraft carriers USS Philippine Sea (CVS-47) and USS Kearsarge (CVS-33). During this period, he completed 100 carrier landings as pilot of the S-2 Tracker and another 100 as co-pilot.

He later served with Training Squadron VT-3 at NAS Whiting Field, Florida. From 1963 to 1965, he was stationed at NAS Keflavik, Iceland—a critical NATO hub for surveillance, refueling, and anti-submarine warfare during the Cold War. Charles flew C-47 transport aircraft, often above the Arctic Circle. In late 1963, his wife Ruth and daughter Cynthia joined him there, and the family traveled through Germany, Italy, and Greece.

From 1965 to 1967, he served with VR-22 at NAS Moffett Field, California, flying C-130 transport missions delivering personnel and materiel to Vietnam, frequently to Da Nang Air Base. From 1967 to 1970, he was assigned to the Naval Air Reserve Training Unit in Lakehurst, New Jersey, where he represented the Navy at college recruiting events during the Vietnam War, engaging with both supporters and anti-war demonstrators.

He later transferred to VR-1 at Naval Air Station Norfolk, Virginia. A highlight of this period was participation in UNITAS III, a multinational naval exercise around South America, where he piloted flights transporting the U.S. Navy Show Band from the School of Music at Little Creek Amphibious Base in Virginia Beach to numerous locations as part of a U.S. goodwill mission.

Gregory concluded his naval career at Naval Air Station Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia, retiring in 1976 with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. After leaving the Navy, he flew private and corporate jets for 22 years.

Following retirement, Gregory took up distance running and completed marathons in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. He finished his 100th marathon at age 79 at the Publix Georgia Marathon on March 17, 2013.

Gregory was proud of his service to his country and of his accomplishments as a runner, and he was always ready to share a story from either adventure.

He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Georgiana Ruth Gregory; his daughters Cynthia Gregory of Napa, California, and Jeanne Gregory of Conyers, Georgia; and his sisters Beverly Buston of Richmond, Virginia; Barbara Heimerich of Huntington, New York; and Joan Pierson of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

A viewing will be held on Sunday, March 15th from 1:00–2:00pm at H.M. Patterson & Son-Canton Hill Chapel, 1157 Old Canton Road NE, Marietta, GA 30068. Funeral services will follow on Monday, March 16th at 11:00am at the same location, with burial at 2:00pm at Georgia National Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to The Salvation Army.