Charles W. Motley, Sr.

Raleigh - Charles W. Motley, Sr., 90, passed away on Wednesday, June 25. Described in the 1943 Oak Leaf, the Hugh Morson High School yearbook, with the phrase One inch of joy surmounts of grief, because to laugh is prayer to the man. Charles William Motley epitomizes a man who could make the best of any situation. His winning and often playful smile warmed the hearts of family, friends and strangers alike. Charles was a native son of Raleigh, having been born in Mary Elizabeth Hospital on Wake Forest Road on February 10, 1924. Much of his childhood was spent in that immediate area. He attended Murphy Elementary School and graduated from Hugh Morson High School in 1943. He was an entrepreneur early in life beginning with selling crops from his produce patch at the old City Market. He would travel from his home in what is today North Hills to City Market in downtown on Friday evening and remain until his produce was gone on Saturday. In the winter his ware were muskrats he had trapped in Crabtree Creek. While living with his grandmother on Wake Forest Road, he delivered groceries for Mallies on his bicycle. In high school he began working as a mechanic at Nash Steele Motor Company and was exempted from active duty during WWII as his work on motors was deemed necessary by the military. He later served in the NC National Guard. He was employed by Sanders Motor Co in the parts department for a number of years. Before going to work each morning, he delivered papers in the Hayes Barton and Five Points area. His natural gift for sales led to a position with Midland Mutual Insurance Co in the 1960s. From there, he went to Great American and All American Life. Eventually, he started his own independent insurance agencies, Charles W. Motley & Associates in Raleigh and Waynesboro Insurance Service in Goldsboro. He was still an owner of the latter and was active in the business until health matters necessitated his retirement in the last two years. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Emma Ruth Motley; his mother, Ruth Wicker Motley Doepner, and stepfather, Roland W. Doepner; and his father William Royal Motley. Survivors are wife, Elaine Cottrell Motley; sons, Charles W. Motley Jr. and his wife Jo Anne, Douglas Motley and his wife Sharon, and William Robert Motley , all of Knightdale; stepson, Michael A. Cottrell and his wife Mary of Denver, CO; stepdaughter, Debra Cottrell Painter and her husbsand John of Morehead City; grandchildren, Charles W. (Chip) Motley III of Knightdale; Tina Motley Pearson and her husband Scott of Durham; Kaitlyn Elaine Cottrell Merritt and her husband Michael of Atlanta; Kevin Michael Cottrell, USAF, Shepherd AFB, Texas and great-grandchild Ava Ann Pearson. Also surviving, his stepsister, Pam Motley Adams and her husband David of Cary, and special adopted family David & Pamela Cox and children Rachel, Ian and Leah, across the street. Charles was a member of William G. Hill Masonic Lodge #218, a 32° Scottish Rite Mason with the Valley of Raleigh, a charter member of Amran Shriners and the Provost Guard, and also the Order of Quetzalcoatl. Mr. Motley was also a member of Benson Memorial United Methodist Church and an active and sometimes vocal participant of the Benson Discussion Class. The family will receive friends at Bryan-Lee Funeral Home, 831 Wake Forest Rd from 6-8 PM on Friday, June 27. Services will be held at Benson Memorial United Methodist Church at 4706 Creedmoor Rd at 1:30 PM on Saturday. Entombment will follow at Raleigh Memorial Park, 7501 Glenwood Ave., with military and Masonic Rites. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Amran Temple Transportation Fund at 11101 Creedmoor Rd Raleigh, NC 27614 to provide transportation for children to Shriners Hospital or to Transitions LifeCare at 250 Hospice Circle Raleigh, NC 27607.