Charles Eugene Mayes

Dr. Charles (Charlie) Eugene Mayes, Sr. M.D. passed away Thursday, December 23 in Nashville, Tennessee. He was 82 years old. He is survived by his wife of 57 years Carol Stacy Mayes and his three children, Dr. Charles E. Mayes, Jr. (Nina) of Santa Rosa Beach, FL, Catherine Mayes Knowles (Jay) of Nashville, and Taylor Mayes (Blake) of Nashville and his seven grandchildren, Tripp, Bennett and Theo Mayes, Caroline and Henry Knowles, and Ivey and Anna Patton Mayes. He is preceded in death by his parents, Hoyt Chesteen and Lizzabell Fisher Mayes and by his grandparents, Eugene and Dora Marlin Mayes and Charles L. and Willie Terry Fisher.

Charlie Mayes was born on December 10, 1939 in Fisher Hollow (pronounced Hollar) near Greenbrier, Tennessee. He grew up on his family’s tobacco farm and he graduated from Greenbrier High School, where he was later inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame. He played basketball at Austin Peay State University and went on to attend Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. After graduating, he spent four more years at Vanderbilt Hospital as an intern, resident, and finally as The Hugh J. Morgan Chief Resident in Medicine. He then served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force, stationed at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. Afterwards, he completed his medical training with a Cardiology Fellowship at The University of Colorado Medical Center in Denver.

While he was an intern at Vanderbilt Hospital, he met Carol Stacy of Bristol, Tennessee; a recent Vanderbilt graduate working as a nurse in the recovery room. They were married in 1964. Charlie often said, and anyone who knows them would agree, that this was the best decision he ever made. Each of their three children were born at a different stops throughout his early career; Charles in Alamogordo, Catherine in Nashville and Taylor in Denver.

In 1976, he and Carol and their young family returned to Nashville and he joined Mid-State Cardiology with Dr. Con Potanin and Dr. Taylor Wray. He worked with Mid-State Cardiology for twenty-five years, primarily at Baptist Hospital, until his retirement in 2002. While at Baptist he served as Chief of Staff, co-director of the Cardiopulmonary Lab, and was on more committees than he cared to remember. He also served a term as president of the Middle Tennessee Heart Association, and was a fellow of the American College of Physicians and a fellow of the American College of Cardiology.

In 1992, he and Carol discovered Boca Grande, Florida, which became a place where they spent more and more of their time every year. They made a number of great friends there and after Charlie’s retirement they split their time between Nashville and Boca Grande.

Charlie considered himself a pretty good fisherman, but his real skill was taking family and friends fishing and ensuring they had a good day on the water. He did not consider himself a very good golfer, though he did enjoy the game and the camaraderie it provided and in his career he still managed to make two hole-in-ones.

His one true love, other than family, was practicing cardiology and that was apparent to anyone who was fortunate enough to work with him or to be one of his patients. All would attest that his true gift as a physician was that he made each of his patients feel that when they were with him they had his full and undivided attention and that their care was his only concern… because it always was.

A celebration of life will be held at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Nashville, TN on Wednesday, January 12 at 3:00pm. The family will receive visitors prior to the service beginning at 1:30pm. Memorial contributions may be made to the Dr. Charles E. Mayes Scholarship Fund at The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (cfmt.org/drmayes) or to Westminster Presbyterian Church.

Honorary pallbearers will be: Dr. Taylor Wray, Dr. Robert Christenberry, Dr. Harrell Odom, Dr. Owen Hartness, Dr. John Bright Cage, Dr. William Fleet, Dr. Andrew Sager, Dr. Kevin Rankin, Dr. James Bomboy, Dr. James Cato, Dr. Robert Dunkerley, Dr. Tyree Finch, Dr. Jeffrey Herring, Dr. Richard Lisella, Dr. Douglas Mitchell, Dr. Michael Niedermeyer, Billy Wayne Dorris, Delores Burns, Monette Cowan, Tiffanie Marksbury, Ben McCoy, Kevin Reynolds, John Jackoboice, Jack Moore, Chuck Mauro and Brittain Prigge.