Charles "Chuck" Emery

Charles Edward Emery, born August 12th, 1933, near Blytheville, AR, passed on October 29th, 2023, surrounded by his family. He is preceded in death by his father, James Jackson Emery, his mother, Ruby Lucile, stepmother Ethel Williams Emery, sister Barbara Lee, and brother Jackie. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Patricia Emery, brother JW (wife Jo) of Louisville, KY, daughter Loraine Lynn Briggs (husband Todd) of Mountainburg, AR, and son Benjamin Emery (wife Donna) of Fort Smith, AR, six grandchildren Jennifer Carmack, of Mt. Vernon, OH, Heather Emery-Cunningham (husband Alex), of Indianola, IA, Darson Emery (wife Erika) of Panama, OK, Dalton Hadlock of Mt. Vernon, OH, Hannah Emery, of Nacogdoches, TX, and Lauren Emery of Fort Smith, AR. He is also survived by his four great grandchildren, Rowyn Parker, Kennedy Parker, Grayson King, and Ronnie Emery.

Charles was known by his friends and family as Charlie, but was most affectionately known as Pug. While in high school, Charlie played on the American Legion’s Kiddie League all-star team. Charlie and his team brought in enough notoriety that talent scouts from the St. Louis Cardinals came out to recruit him to play as one of their pitchers, as few were able to hit his left-handed throws.

He was drafted into the Army and served for 18 months during the Korean War. After returning, he went to Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia and then went on to the University of Arkansas to try studying engineering. He often said that he was “kicked out of the best of them.” Getting kicked out of two universities didn’t stop him in his knowledge or success.

He returned to Blytheville and went to work at Cotner & Bevington, which specialized in ambulance vehicles. While Charlie was there, the company expanded their designs to include limousines and school buses. His skills provided him the opportunity to work with Sheller-Globe Corporation in Ohio, where he was the VP of Engineering. After he returned to Arkansas, he went to work for Armbruster Stageway and later went on to build his own company with his brother-in-law, Rick Elsner. They created Classic Coach which was a limousine service and manufacturing company based in Fort Smith.

His passion and brilliance for engineering continued after his retirement. Charlie had always enjoyed restoring classic cars and began to devote more time to that. As a member of both the Antique Automobile Club of America and the Society of Automotive Engineers, Charlie would frequently manufacture needed parts for antique cars that had no available designs and re-create them.

Public viewing will be on November 1st, from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm at Edwards Funeral Home in Fort Smith, Graveside services with Military Honors will be held at the Fort Smith National Cemetery on November 2nd, 2023, at 1pm.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Pl., Memphis, TN 38105 or online at www.stjude.org