Charles's Wife and Friends Share Memories
October 11, 2020
Spring City, TN -- Family and friends gathered together at the Spring City Marina, a favorite fishing spot for Charles Benton during his time in Spring City. He lived just across the street from the marina. There was a very sizeable group that showed up to honor Charles and to support his family on the one year anniversary of Charles' death last year. Charles's mother and his wife both spoke to the assembled group before balloons were released. As the balloons rose into the sky, one could imagine Charles looking down on the baloons as they rose skyward. It was my first memorial service balloon release and it was beautiful.
Afterwards friends and family took time to share memories and soon most had moved on and back to their lives. I took time to speak with Charles's widow, Kim Kelley Benton. Kim and Charles were together for 35 years and married for 26 years. She was so appreciative for all those who came to the gathering. She has kept his memory alive over the last year.
Charles was a career exploration teacher at Rhea County High School before his death. He had also been a coach in various sports and a father, husband, son and a friend to so many. He left behind a wife and daughter, mother, father and sister, brothers, grandmother and many other many aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews and cousins as well as many friends.
Charles grew up in Spring City and began playing football at age 4 with the Spring City Red Dogs. He played all thre major sports through his school days before moving on to the next level as football signee for the University of Tennessee after his 1983 graduation from Rhea County High School.
Charles was a 1983 graduate of Rhea County High School. He was a four year letterman in football at University of Tennessee from 1983-1986. He received his degree from University of Tennessee in 1989.
Charles began life in Rhea County on Jackson Street in Spring City, Tennessee. When he arrived at Rhea County High School, he was an athlete, who played multiple sports. He starred in baseball, football and basketball as youth. At Rhea County, he was a star football, and basketball player who moved on to the next level and play football for the University of Tennessee. One of his big plays was the long punt returne against Baylor in the 1981 playoff game vs Baylor that help Eagles win 14-7. He played defensive back at UT from 1983-1986 and also returned punts.
After graduation from The University of Tennessee, Charles and family remained in Knoxville before returning to Rhea County in 2015. Charles worked for 20 years with Knox County Home Ties and Knox County Juvenille Court helping with the youth to have better home lives and to teach them to stay out of jail. He was also a School Resource Officer. He took a break from that and became an Assistant Manager then Manager at Advance Auto Parts before we moved back to Rhea County.
At the Balooon Release Memorial, his widow Kim said, "Charles was a man who loved God and his family with his entire heart and our life will never be the same without him! He was mine and Jaydens rock and our strongest encourager. He made a difference in everyone lives that knew him and loved him. If he was your friend, family or loved one you knew it by the big hugs he would give you when he saw you!"
Those hugs were the best and we all truly miss them. He loved his students and it showed because they in turn loved him back! He actually made a difference and I’ve had several students that have contacted me to tell me this. He encouaged each one he came in contact that they could do anything they put their mind to do. He prayed for his family and his students as well as his coworkers. He loved RCHS EAGLES and he loved the VOLS and being a VFL and his passion showed when he talked about it. He was really bigger than life and his presence is truly missed. I was told by someone that charles was a shining star to others when their lives seemed so dim and he always tried to make their lives brighter."
Later Kim talked about some of the special events in their lives.
Kim talked about Charles and his motivation for moving back to Rhea County. "He had wanted to move back for about 10 years and I wanted to stay in Knoxville. Jesse Messimer has talked to him several times about working at Rhea County. Charles always wanted to be in coaching and should have studied that in college but guided in a different path."
"When I finally gave in to moving back when Jesse asked in 2015 (also because my mom had been diagnosed with breast cancer and was here), he was ecstatic! I’ve never seen him so happy about a job/career. He loved it! To get to teach and coach at his alma mater was his dream come true! He was never a morning person and usually always hit the snooze button several times but not with teaching here. He sometimes would wake up before the alarm went off."
"He loved being a Coach and instilling in his students to work hard, not to give up on their hopes and dreams, to believe in themselves and to pursue what they wanted to be/do after high school. He especially loved it if the students asked him about God and his faith because then he could talk to them about it!"
Kim talked about his favorite things to do. "Football was his favorite and then basketball. He loved fishing and would do that every chance he could. That’s why I chose the spring city boat dock to release the balloons because that was “his fishing spot” although he went other places. Since we lived across the street he would go even if it was just 15 minutes. He said not only did he love it, it was his stress reliever."
Kim talked about his relationship with his daughter Jayden. "He loved helping to coach Jayden as she tried different sports—basketball, soccer and her favorite volleyball. He loved being on the sidelines with me as we both cheered for her and her teams. So many of his students told me how he talked about me and Jayden all the time."
"He loved being able to show Jayden and I whenever he caught something big and he loved being able to bring fish to Katie Mama (his grandmother) so she would be able to fry it."
"Becoming parents in 2007 was the greatest thing for both of us! Jayden was our pride and joy"
"He and I both enjoyed attending UT football games in the fall and we had season tickets. We hardly ever missed a home game."
"We both loved spending time just hanging out with friends and family. And he loved playing cornhole with his students, family and friends and he was great at it!"
"As a family we loved to play board games and card games. If he didn’t win, he always said we cheated."
James Guthrie, a long time friend of the family talked about his memories of Charles as a young man.
"Charles was a very quiet young man and a fantastic athlete. He was friends with my children. He played all three major sports and was very good at each one. He was the best at football. One of the best athletes I every saw play at Rhea County."
"After he returned to Rhea County, he loved to fish. He loved to fish and spent a lot of time fishing right her at the "Spring City" Marina."
Charles is survived by his wife of 26 years and high school sweetheart of 38 years, Kim (Kelley) Benton, of Spring City; his daughter who was his whole heart, Jayden Benton of Spring City; his mother, Noralean (Cowley) Benton Huddleston of Spring City; his two brothers, Stewart (Renee) Pugh of Cleveland and Carlos (Candace) Benton of Chattanooga; his sisters, Katrina Benton of Spring City and Angela Abrams of Georgia; his grandmother, Kathylean McDonald “Katie Momma” of Spring City; many aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews and cousins.