Charlotte Almarie Gray

Charlotte Almarie Gray went home to be with her Lord July 29, 2024. She was the daughter of the late Frank S. and Irene G. Gray of East Brainerd. She was preceded in death by her brother Frank Wilburn Gray, sisters Mary Lou Hitchcock and Dorothy Bratcher, and daughter-in-law Sara Martin. She is survived by son Jeff Martin, grandsons Carl (Megan), Evan and great grandson Hudson; sisters Joyce Wolfe (Bob), Pat Denmark (Larry); and many loving nieces and nephews.

Charlotte grew up in a loving and hard working rural farm family of 1 son and 5 sisters where she learned the value of a days work and those you shared it with. Our story is a unique one in that she was my dad’s birth mother who in 1963 made a lot of tough choices for a young woman of her time but chose life for my dad. My dad found her in 1989 and she got to have 34 years of a relationship with him and us. I’ve never known anything different and am very lucky. (And dad was adopted by a loving couple and that part of the story was a happy ending also.) Grandma Charlotte was a nurse for 45+ years at every imaginable level of care. Her last 12 working years was with NC Dept of Correction at NCCIW which ended her working career with plenty of new experiences. In retirement she began to enjoy her time with family and traveling and always reading a book or two or ten a week. In 2017 our family began our caretaking journey for my mom after her cancer diagnosis and battle. The one who led us through that fog was Grandma. She was with Mom at home all the time and made countless trips to UNC. These last two years have been bittersweet as we have spent more time together but also her dementia has increased and physical ability decreased. Through it all she was a tough lady who never let her current circumstances take away her smile and positive outlook. She loved her family, Baptist hymnals and her Red Headed Stranger Willie Nelson.

Almarie worked as a nurse for many years at Woman's Hospital and Memorial Hospital both in Chattanooga.

Charlotte, Almarie, “ReRe”, Grandma-she was many names to her many nieces, nephews, and grandkids and even those who weren’t her grandkids by blood and each have their special memory of her time with them. There are countless stories just from my times with her and unknown number of lives she touched through her career but today just want to take the time to honor her life and say thank you for everything she did and went through for me and my family to be here.

There will be a celebration of life at a later date.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy can be shared below within “Add a Memory” for the Gray family.