Battleboro -

Charles Gene Vester, "Charlie," 86, of Battleboro, lived the majority of his life in Wilson, passed away Friday evening, October 3, 2025. He was also known to be called by some of his family, Gene, and he was also called Sarge.

Charlie was born December 27, 1938, in Nash County to the late Charles Willard and Virgie Marshall Vester. Charlie was born with a heart of gold and an extraordinary level of willpower to accomplish any and everything he wanted to in life. Nothing held him back.

He graduated from West Edgecombe high school in 1957. His salvation was given to him, during a tent revival, in the 50s. He talked in grave detail about how he felt God pulling on his heart strings to come forward and after the second or third night, he did just that, and accepted Jesus, into his heart, as his personal Lord and Savior.

He attended the Wilson Police Academy, which led him to pursue, what would be a 30 year career, as a Wilson police officer, later to become a sergeant, followed by a lieutenant until he retired. His fellow officers thought the world of him, and likewise he did of them. He treated his officers on his shift, like true family, which resulted in other officers requesting to be on his shift. He was gifted at being a strong leader, and it showed through the police officers that were on his shift. I know the reason they wanted to be on his shift, aside from his leadership skills and treating you like family, was my mother's delicious meals, that she often made for him to take to work, on a regular basis.

He met his wife, Carolyn Ann Whitley, of all places, at the former Rocky Mount zoo, at the monkey cages and they fell head over heels in love and were married July 31, 1960.  They were not able to see each other on their 65th wedding anniversary this past July 31st, due to one of them being at the hospital and one at a rehab facility.

Charlie also had an exceptional attention to detail, a great memory, and it showed in everything he did in his life. He put his best effort forward, in everything he did,  and instilled  that quality in many others, throughout his life. He was asked to teach classes at Wilson Tech, which he gratefully accepted, and excelled in helping others train and find their way in law-enforcement.

Out of his 30 year career at the Wilson Police Department, he never missed one day of work, which is unbelievably rare, and without question, deserves to be commanded for such an exemplary level of dedication and discipline. He even went to work on crutches, when he got sick with gout, the first time.

After he retired, you never saw him without seeing his wife, Carolyn. They were inseparable. He was also drafted and served, in the army for nearly 2 years, fighting for our country's freedom.

Charlie was proceeded in death by his parents, Charles Willard and Virgie Marshall Vester, his mother and father-in-law, William and Ethel Whitley, his favorite Uncle Paul and Aunt Evelyn Bumgarner, his Aunt Betsy, his two brothers, Donald Vester and his wife, Peggy, Timmy Vester, a brother-in-law, Bobby Brannan, and his niece, Pamela Jo Roberson.

He leaves to cherish his memory, his beloved wife of 65 years, Carolyn Ann Whitley Vester, his daughter, Tammy Vester Breedlove Pulley and her husband Chris Pulley and his son, Christopher; his son, Michael Eugene Vester, two very special grandchildren, Nicholas Breedlove and his fiancé Brianna, Lauren Breedlove McClanahan and her husband Jonah, his sister, Hazel Roberson, several nieces, nephews, great nieces, and great nephews, lots of cousins, and his loving, sweet grand dog, Max, whom he loved and enjoyed so very much, and Max loved him equally as much.

Charlie loved his family, friends, and his Class of 57. His best friend, from high school, Charles Pollard, deceased, and his wife Frances, organized regular class reunions, that turned into once a month gatherings at different restaurants. Charlie and Charles were both class clowns and would act out skits, in front of their classmates, when they rented a large enough building to do so.

He also loved the beach and the mountains, especially Fontana Dam Village, in Fontana, North Carolina. What started as a suggested trip to Fontana, turned into nearly, 50 years, in a row. We met so many sweet, kind people and their families over the years, that we all decided to vacation the same time every summer and have continued to stay in touch to this day. Our group of friends and family went so much on a regular basis, that we were known as the Fontana Faithfuls. You could find Charlie and Carolyn playing the Rook card game, almost every night on vacation with their cherished friends and even with friends and family, back at home.

He loved to watch college basketball, he liked both Duke and UNC, probably favored Duke a little more because his Aunt Betsy, worked at Duke. He was also known as as an avid walker, as well as his wife and kids. He even had the neighborhood boys, walking with us a lot, around the neighborhood streets near Barton College, ACC back then, and Maplewood cemetery. Almost every Saturday night, you could find him, behind his grill, grilling up a delicious steak dinner for our family, and mom, making her homemade salad, and potatoes in her pressure pot. That became a tradition in our family. He always looked forward to the holidays with his family and other celebrations throughout the year.

Charlie will be fiercely missed by all who knew him and loved him, especially, his beloved wife of 65 years, his children, grandchildren, and our sweet dog Max. His level of dedication to serve the Wilson police department and community, as well as his service in the army for our country, will never be forgotten. He will live forever in our hearts and unending beautiful memories. We will be reunited in heaven and live together, forever in eternity, with Jesus. Until we meet again.

Funeral services will be held at 12:30PM on Monday, October 13, 2025 at NorthSide Church, 1660 Beaver Pond Drive, Rocky Mount, NC 27804. Entombment will follow at Evergreen Memorial Park, Wilson. The family will receive friends prior to the service from 11:00AM to 12:15PM.

In lieu of flowers, feel free to donate, in his memory, to the National Diabetes Foundation, P.O. Box 7023, Merrifield, VA 22116-7023 or by clicking HERE .