Presbyterians honor the legacy of Charles F. Easley Sr.

Atlanta educator, ruling elder served as vice moderator of GA215 (2003)

October 4, 2018

Charles F. Easley, Sr.

Members of an Atlanta congregation are continuing to honor the legacy of a longtime member who played key roles in the church and society.

Charles F. Easley Sr., vice moderator of the 215th General Assembly (2003) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), died May 23. Services were held June 2 — just before the 223rd General Assembly — at Radcliffe Presbyterian Church, where he was a member for more than 50 years. He was 82.

Following his discharge from service as an officer in the U.S. Army in 1962, Easley — born in Dalton, Georgia, and the youngest of 13 children — embarked on a distinguished career as an educator, coach and educational administrator. A graduate of PC(USA)-related Knoxville College, Atlanta University (now Clark College) and Columbia University (New York) Teacher’s College, Easley began his career as a teacher and multi-championship coach at Stephens High School in Calhoun, Georgia.

He later served as a professor, faculty advisor of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity and dean of students at Morris Brown College in Atlanta; dean of students at Atlanta Junior College; and retired as vice president of student affairs of Atlanta Metropolitan College, now Atlanta Metropolitan State College, where he also served two stints as interim president while chairing search committees.

Among his many awards, Easley was named 1963 Georgia Teacher of the Year and 1971 Outstanding Educator Award-winner. To stay active in his love of sports, he also was a three-sport official with the Quarterback Club for high school athletes in Atlanta. Easley played semi-pro basketball and was drafted by Major League Baseball.

During his half-century at Radcliffe Presbyterian Church, Easley served as both ruling elder and trustee.

In the community, he served on many boards and committees, most notably as vice chair of the board of trustees of Trinity School; president of Sheltering Arms, a social service agency in Atlanta; numerous school accreditation agencies; president of the West Fulton County Rotary Club; and as an active member of Leadership Atlanta.

Easley was preceded in death by his wife, Helen S. Easley, and all of his brothers and sisters and most in-laws. He is survived by his daughter Tania P. Easley and son Charles F. Easley Jr.; granddaughters Jenna and Jessica Bailey; great-grandson Christopher Prothro; sister-in-law Madge Easley, and a host of cousins, nieces and nephews.

 Jerry Van Marter, Correspondent, Office of the General Assembly

Today’s Focus:  Legacy of Charles F. Easley Sr.

 Let us join in prayer for: 

Radcliffe Presbyterian Church Staff

Jackie Hollis, Minister of Music
Karen Howard, Church Secretary
Harold Davis, Sexton
Daniel Pooser, IT Ministry Leader
Kenny Goggins, Treasurer
Marvin Wright, Minister, Praise and Worship Leader

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff

Gina Yeager-Buckley, PMA
Gabriela Zoller, OGA

Let us pray:

Dear God, thank you for your faithful servants. Help us to reflect your love by showing love to one another. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Daily Readings

Morning Psalms 116; 147:12-20
First Reading Hosea 4:1-10
Second Reading Acts 21:27-36
Gospel Reading Luke 6:1-11
Evening Psalms 26; 130


Creative_Commons-BYNCNDYou may freely reuse and distribute this article in its entirety for non-commercial purposes in any medium. Please include author attribution, photography credits, and a link to the original article. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDeratives 4.0 International License.