Charles Grady Upton

Funeral services for Charles Grady Upton, 89, of Monroe, will be held at 2:00 PM Friday, Sept. 18, 2015, in the chapel of Mulhearn Funeral Home, Monroe with Rev. Wesley Pittman and Dr. Craig West officiating. Interment will follow at Mulhearn Memorial Park Cemetery under the direction of Mulhearn Funeral Home, Monroe.Charles Upton was born January 28, 1926 in Delhi, LA, one of eight children, and died September 15, 2015 at age 89 in Monroe, LA.He was preceded in death by his parents, Commodore Lawrence Upton and Evie Ann Antley Upton; sisters, Dorothy Upton Sanders, Muriel Upton Kramer, Edith Ann Upton Levenson, Evelyn Evie Upton Freeman and Catherine Upton Futrell. He was a member of First Baptist Church, Monroe, a Sunday School Teacher for many years, an Ordained Deacon and a charter member of Forest Glade Baptist Church, now Northeast Baptist School. Most recently he was a Sunday School Teacher at McKeen Place. He served his Lord the best he could.He graduated from Central High School, in Franklin Parish as Valedictorian. He went to serve his country in the US Navy in World War II aboard the USS Sevier APA-233 as Seaman 1st Class. He served in the south Pacific Area among the Philippines, Okinawa, Iwo Jima, (where they removed what was left of the 4th Marine Division, about 1,000 men) and Sasebo, Japan, 20 miles from Hiroshima.After his service he entered Northeast Junior College and graduated in Civil Engineering, surveying while in school. He met and married his college sweetheart, Mary “Murphy” Austin in 1948. He took his Land Surveyor test at Tulane University at New Orleans and got his Surveying License. He worked at Brown Paper Mill, Hanford Atomic Plant site at Richland, WA and he worked for LA Department of Highways for 32 years before retiring in 1983. He worked on many road jobs, but the most important to him was surveying and the lay out work on I-20 from Calhoun to Tallulah. He always tried to look out for the best interest of the state.He was a very special family man who enjoyed woodworking and hunting and fishing. He could fix about anything he set his mind to do. His last years he spent keeping his records up to date. He enjoyed playing games and reading emails from his friends on his computer.Charles was a loving husband, father, grandfather and friends to many. God blessed us all dearly by Charles Upton’s life. He is survived by Mary, his devoted wife of more than 67 years; two sons, Michael Charles Upton of Monroe, and Jody Randall Upton and wife Michelle of Weatherford, TX; two daughters, Marilyn Lee Upton of Monroe, and Angela Michelle Beck and husband Jim of Pine Bluff, AR; grandchildren, Misty Upton McDowell of Mt. Pleasant, MI, Anthony Upton and Nick Brown of Monroe, LA, Caitlyn and Chandler Upton of Weatherford, TX; two great-grandchildren, Dakota Jan and Mia Isabel McDowell of Mt. Pleasant, MI; one brother, Clyde Alvin Upton of Strong, AR; and one sister, Helen Graham of Evansville, IN; several cousins; many nieces and nephews; and many longtime friends.Visitation will be from 5:00 to 7:00 PM Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015 at the funeral home.Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church of Monroe or the charity of your choice.