Charles Maurice Grau

Charles Maurice Grau, “Charlie,” passed away at his home on Wednesday, August 14, 2024, at the age of 83.Charlie was born in Talihina, Oklahoma, on January 2, 1941, to Wilhelm “Willie” Grau and Elsie Denghler Grau, but soon after his birth, he moved to Missouri.  Charlie grew up in Charleston, Missouri, attended and graduated from Charleston High School,where he was the captain and quarterback of the football team.  Upon graduating high school, he attended the University of Missouri and was part of the ROTC for three years and was also a member of Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity.  In the early 60s, he served in the United States Army as an artillery instructor at Ft. Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma.  He married Sara Caroline “Carol” Yates in 1965, and they moved to Prairie Village, Kansas, upon completing his active duty in 1966. While in Kansas City, he started his career with Gulf Oil Company and then later, in 1971, relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, when Williams Companies purchased Gulf Oil.  While in Tulsa, Charlie had a successful career with Agrico Chemical Company as Vice President. Charlie had the privilege of seeing a lot of the world through his job, including South Korea, China, India, Russia, Singapore, Monte Carlo, and more.  When he wasn’t traveling and had some spare time, Charlie would enjoy quail and duck hunting.  During this time, he also bought a farm in Jenks, Oklahoma, where he helped build a barn and riding arena for the show horses that belonged to Carol and their two daughters, Katey and Laura.  The farm was named Merry Hour Farm in honor of the name of Carol’s first horse she had received from her father.  Charlie became well known at the local horse shows in Tulsa where he was often heard announcing the events and riders in one of the arenas. In the mid-1980s, he would find himself traveling back to his hometown, where he had ownership and worked for Bertrand Cotton and had a terminal at Bird’s Point. He also briefly worked for PhosChem in Chicago but then landed in Tennessee in 1988 when he worked for ConAgra as the Executive Vice President.  All the horses were moved to Maryville, the new home for Merry Hour Farm, and over the years, it became a beautiful functioning horse facility that housed their horses and borders as well.  Later, Charlie led a group of investors that purchased their new company named Basic Resources Inc. from ConAgra in 1992.  He ensured that BRI had a solid foundation to grow from a start-up to the largest flux supplier in North America.  In Charlie’s own words, “Not bad for a kid from a small farm town!”  

He served on the Citizens Bank Board of Directors in Charleston for over ten years and would make the drive once a month for the meetings.  After he retired from Basic Resources Inc. in 2011, you could find him on the farm helping with the horses, eating breakfast with his buddies at Gracie’s, relaxing at his river house on Little River,enjoying dining at Dancing Bear and Lemon Grass, making friends with people in places that he frequented, and without fail at the five o’clock hour you can bet your bottom dollar he had either a Dos Equis or Modelo Negra beer in his hand.  He was a remarkablysuccessful man, lived a full life, saw a lot of the world, and was loved by many.  He will be forever missed!

He was preceded in death by his wife of 58 years; Sarah Caroline (Carol) Yates Grau parents; Willie and Elsie Grau; Robert T and Elizabeth Black Yates; his brother Willie Jr.; his sister Maxine Combs; and his niece Bonnie Bailey (Henry).

He is survived by his daughters; Katey Grau of Wellington, Florida, Laura Palik (David) of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; grandchildren Sarah Testa (Erik) of Tulsa, Oklahoma and Chris Palik of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; great granddaughter Lottie Testa also of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Sister in law Marcia Jansen (Lou) of Tucson, Arizona; Nieces Maggie Jansen of Denton, TX and Katrina Niziolek (John) Scottsdale, Arizona; nephews David Taiz (Sue) of Sarasota, Florida and Kep Taiz of Tucson, Arizona; other family Martha Ellen and Monroe Black of Charleston, Missouri and Sandy and Bob Lessenberry of Little Rock, Arkansas;and great niece Wendy Faber of Denver, Colorado.

Online condolences may be sent to dlpalik@cox.net.  Any contributions can be made to a Hospice organization of your choice.

A celebration of life memorial service will be held on September 14, 2024,at 6:00 p.m. at Merry Hour Farm. Arrangements entrusted to Dotson Funeral Home, Wildwood (865-984-5959) Online Book of Memories:  dotsonfuneralhome.com

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Charles Maurice Grau, please visit our floral store.