Charlene Martha Banks

Charlene Banks was born in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to Mr. Rudolph Mayhew (deceased) and Mrs. Pearl Mayhew, on November 11, 1966, and departed this life on November 21, 2022, at her home in Cary, North Carolina with her husband of 22 years, Thomas Earl Banks Jr., holding her hands.

Charlene attended Mucurapo Girl’s R.C. and subsequently Saint James Secondary School prior to migrating to the United States in 1987, where she eventually became a Naturalized US Citizen. In 1992, Charlene attained her Bachelor of Science Degree in Information Systems from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and began employment in Information Technology. It was early in her career whilst working for Sprint International that she met Thomas, her husband-to-be. Her career would transport the couple overseas to Tortola until Hurricane Irma devastated the island in 2017. Charlene became certified in CPR and supported the communications systems in New Orleans following the travesty of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. She was a regular volunteer with the American Red Cross, assisting in blood drives throughout the Raleigh-Durham Metropolitan region, and volunteered with the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, Flotilla 10-05.

With a welcoming and loving smile, that highlighted her dimpled cheek, Charlene was a beautiful person both inside and out. Charlene enjoyed and was dedicated to the field of Information Technology and was considered the “go-to” person for any friend or family in need of computer technical assistance. There was not a resume that Charlene did not revise and made into a professional document that could make anyone look like the CEO of a Fortune 500 Company. Charlene never hesitated to provide professional advice and counsel to anyone in need, and she would often send out “research clips”, professional articles, and job referrals to anyone who would receive them.

A dedicated wife to Thomas and a loving stepmother to Morgan Alexandra Banks-Ennis, Charlene was truly a generous and big-hearted woman. She would gather all her nieces and nephews in the summer and expose them to a variety of activities, whether it was swimming, tennis, or etiquette camp, the fun they all had, and the memories created would last a lifetime. Charlene exemplified the saying by former President Franklin D. Roosevelt, “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”

Charlene loved to travel the world and was an avid tennis and soccer (football) fan; traveling to New York to watch the U.S. Open, and to Germany in 2006 to attend the FIFA World Cup games to watch her brother, Brent, play. Charlene loved vacationing around blue waters, where she spent long quiet weekends enjoying her husband’s company at their beach home on Oak Island.

As Charlene’s soul now travels forward to be with her heavenly family members, she leaves here on earth to cherish her memories, her devoted husband, Thomas Earl Banks, Jr, stepdaughter, Morgan Ennis, mother Pearl Sancho, her bonus father Keith Sancho, mother-in law Lecraig Hatcher (Eldridge), siblings and their spouses, Sean and Sharon Granderson, Rhonda and Ricardo Guillette, Tricia and Henry Noel, Richard Mayhew, and Brent and Suzanne Sancho, in-laws, Michele Banks and David Banks. A host of nieces and nephews who all looked up to their Aunty Charlene, Sherwyn, Teherah, Stephanie, Khalid, Sydney, Bless, Liberty, Love, Neomie, Jayden, and Yliana, great nieces and nephews, and many friends and colleagues. As she ascends to Heaven, she will join her father Rudolph Mayhew, stepmother, Patricia Mayhew, and father-in-law Thomas Earl Banks, Sr.

Charlene’s warm and welcoming smile will be missed; however, her loving spirit will remain in the hearts of all who adored and loved her. Although the sun may have set on Charlene’s earthly body, the rays of her love shall endure forever.

A service for Charlene will be held Saturday December 3, 2022 at 10:00 AM at Saint Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church located at 3008 Old Raleigh Rd, Apex, NC 27502. Following the service a repast will be held at the Bank's family home at 213 Kilbreck Drive Cary, NC 27511.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.BrownWynneCary.com for the Banks family.