Charles Clark Gay, Sr.

Mr. Charles Clark Gay, Sr. of Cleveland, Georgia died June 12, 2015. Mr. Gay was born in Garfield, Georgia and graduated from Garfield High School and North Georgia Military College in Dahlonega, Georgia

Mr. Gay was a multifaceted individual. He was a loving husband and father, a businessman, an innovator and pioneer of diesel engines, an aviator, and a supportive and kind grandfather and great grandfather. Mr. Gay marveled at the development and progress of the United States, particularly with regards to transportation. Mr. Gay started Gay Trucking Company in 1945 with one tractor and two trailers, hauling cottonseed in Georgia. Later, Mr. Gay went on to become the founder and CEO of Builders Transport, Inc. in Camden, SC. Builders Transport, Inc. became the 2nd largest truckload carrier in the country at the time with approximately 3,500 tractors and 9,000 vans and flatbeds. Even at the age of 94, he was always thinking of things to do, problems to solve and ways to be productive in his life.

Mr. Gay is the son of the late John Harry Gay, Sr. and Fannie Clark Gay of Garfield, GA. Mr. Gay was predeceased by his wife, Thelma Anderson Gay, his son, Lee Anderson Gay and his three brothers, John Harry Gay, Jr., James Ormond Gay and Hugh Vinson Gay. Survivors include his son and daughter in-law, Charles Clark Gay Jr. and Ann Humphreys Gay of Sullivan’s Island, SC; grandchildren, Rebecca Travis Gay, Alta, WY; Charles Clark Gay III, Charleston, SC; Hawkins Clark Gay, Savannah, GA; Susan Sadler Stafford, Atlanta, GA; Rebecca Gay Evans, Savannah, GA; Joseph Usher Gay, Savannah, GA; great grandchildren, Emma Travis Caulkins, Alta, WY; Archer Dane Caulkins, Alta, WY; Adelaide Lee Gay, Charleston, SC; Charles Clark Gay IV, Charleston, SC; James Guthrie Sneed, Alta, WY; Waylon Augustus Stafford, Atlanta, GA.


A graveside service will be held Friday, June 19 at 10:30 am at Cavender’s Creek Baptist Church in Dahlonega, GA. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Cavender’s Creek Baptist Church Cemetery Fund P.O. Box 219 Dahlonega, GA 30533 and/or the donation of your choice.


Online condolences can be made to the family at barrettfh.com.


Barrett Funeral Home, Cleveland, GA.