October 2, 2021, 71, La Grange –

Charles Ivey Wade, 71, passed away Saturday, October 2, 2021 at Kitty Askins Hospice Center. Charles was born in Lenoir County to the late Vander Wade, Jr. and Lillian Sauls Wade on February 9, 1950. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his siblings, Michael Wade and Terry Beth Wade.

A love of farming ran deep in Charles’s spirit. Growing up on the family farm, he spent many years tending to crops and cattle with his father. After working at DuPont for 22 years, he went back to his original love and helped many farmers throughout the area from planting to harvest. Charles loved his home and spent all of his years on that sacred plot of heaven on earth.

Hard-headed and strong-willed, Charles believed in doing things his way. Though he was a man of few words, the words he spoke came as a command, and you were smart to listen. He came about these traits honestly, being natured much like his mama. The older he got, the more the two resembled each other in their demeanor. Although he could be brazen in his speech, his heart was pure and his love for family and friends was vast.

A favorite pastime for Charles was watching his beloved Nascar family. Never joining the ranks of Earnhardt or Gordon, Charles was a devoted fan of Bill Elliott. Spending Sunday afternoons watching cars drive fast and turn left came second only to his chance to sit down at his wife’s table. No one cooked a better meal in his opinion, and her fried chicken was especially top notch.

Fiercely loyal to his family, Charles maintained family ties far beyond his immediate kin. Growing up alongside his first cousins, they were more like siblings than cousins. Nieces and nephews became like children to him, and he strived to be a role model for each of them throughout his life. After his father died, he dedicated his years to taking care of his mama and making sure the family bond remained strong.

A service to remember and honor Charles’s life will be held by the graveside at Fairview Cemetery at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 7, 2021. The family will receive friends prior to the service from 1:30 – 2:30 at Rouse Funeral Home.

Charles is survived by his wife, Sheila Carter Wade; daughter, Ashley Wade Brownlee and husband, Shane; granddaughters, Hannah Brownlee and Emily Brownlee; brother and sister-in-law, Bruce and Barbara Wade; and special nieces and nephew, Heather Winstead and husband, Brandon, Brooke Wade, and BJ Wade and wife, Dawn, Brody and Brantlee Webster, and Asa and Lilly Wade.

The family would like to extend their gratitude to the staff of Kitty Askins for the passionate and professional care of Charles in his final days.

Online condolences may be expressed at www.rousefh.com. Arrangements entrusted to Rouse Funeral Home, La Grange.