Charles Edward Myers

CHARLES EDWARD MYERS, SR. was born on June 22, 1941, in Columbia, SC to Harvey D. and Ruth F. Myers, Sr. In his youth, he was reared in and baptized at his father’s family’s church, Zion Baptist Church. In his youth, he was proud to be a Boy Scout and ultimately achieved the Eagle Scout status. He was educated in the public schools of Columbia where he graduated from Booker T. Washington High School and was active in the choir and the science club. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in 1964 from Benedict College. In addition to attending classes at Benedict, he worked as a waiter at various restaurants and country clubs, pledged Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated, and married his high school sweetheart Carolyn Regina Mobley. His first professional job was as a science teacher at Fairwold Middle School in Columbia. During his fifth year of teaching, he secured a summer job with The Aetna Insurance Company. He was offered and accepted a permanent position as a commercial property underwriter with The Aetna making him the first Black man to work in their Columbia office. He pursued and earned the Chartered Property Casualty (CPCU) designation and in 1979, accepted a commercial underwriting position at The Aetna’s corporate office in Hartford, Connecticut. After more than 22-years and job-transfers to Charlotte, NC and Baltimore, MD, Charles retired from Aetna. He then worked for Zurich Insurance Company in Baltimore from which he also retired in 2006. Charles and Carolyn had three children: Beckie, Edwina, and Charles Jr. He took seriously the role of father by regularly helping with homework and science projects, teaching life skills like cooking and home repairs, and modeling faith in action by taking the family to church almost every Sunday. He brought science home in playful and interesting ways for his children by making green eggs and ham, taking road trips to see eclipses, and getting up close and personal with lightening storms. Charles was proud of his children, their careers and their life choices. He was civic minded, volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and working as a poll worker for multiple elections. He joined and became active in a church in each city where he lived. In Baltimore, at Epworth United Methodist Chapel, he was engaged in mentoring young boys and was very active in the United Methodist Men group. Charles loved golfing and traveled with his golf buddies to various tournaments. After Carolyn died in 2002, Charles married Evelyn Johnson in 2011. As older newlyweds, their life was filled with travels to exciting cities, cruises, jazz festivals, and his favorite thing, fine dining and entertaining. Charles leaves to cherish his memory and live forever in their hearts: his wife Evelyn; his children, Beckie (Gary) Spencer, Edwina Myers Walker, and Charles E. Myers, Jr. (Vivian); his grandchildren, Charles “Tres” (Ranen) Myers, III and Victoria Myers; Evelyn’s children, Anthony “Tony” Johnson, Anita (Adrian) Randall; grandchildren, Lauren Harris and Jay (Megan) Randall-Sarangoulis, Kaylie Johnson; great-grandchildren, Adrianna Harris and Hayes Randall-Sarangoulis; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Tributes

Charles Edward Myers

June 22, 1941 - February 3, 2026