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Obituary
Charles Michael Gravis was born in Dallas, Texas, March 20, 1949 and passed away Christmas Eve, December 24th, 2009. Charles was the first born son of Michael Ann Cain and Charles Kearney Gravis, III. Charles was preceded in death by his parents and by fraternal grandparents Elma Holzapfel Gravis and Charles Kearney Gravis, Jr. Charles is survived by three younger brothers, Duncan, Kearney, and Harwell and by three half-sisters and one half-brother.
In the early to mid 1950s, Charles and his three younger brothers flourished under the nurture and care of their much beloved grandmother and grandfather on the family ranch between San Diego and Benavides, Texas. Many fond early childhood memories of horseback riding, hunting, gardening and other activities related to being on a ranch were formed in those years. In 1962, the family moved to Alice, Texas, to provide enriched social and educational opportunities for Charles and his brothers.
While attending William Adams High School in Alice, Charles was an aggressive team-member of the Alice Coyote football team which advanced to Bi-District playoffs in 1965 and Quarter-Final playoffs in 1966. (Toward the end of his life, Charles’ co-workers at the Pentagon were amazed to learn this about Charles, seeing him as a mild-mannered, gentle man.)
After graduating high school Charles matriculated to Texas A&I University, which is now Texas A&M University-Kingsville, graduating in 1973 with three Bachelor of Science degrees in physics, chemical engineering, and mathematics. Charles was then accepted into the doctorate program in Biophysics and Physiology at The University at Buffalo, of The State University of New York, subsequently receiving his Ph.D. in Biophysics from The University at Buffalo in 2001.
Charles left Buffalo, moving to San Antonio, Texas, before obtaining his doctorate. In San Antonio, he worked for AT&T teaching military personnel the AT&T UNIX operating system. Responding to AT&T’s request for personnel to do likewise in Germany, Charles relocated to Germany and spent 12 years there, becoming a Civil-Servant to the U.S. Government in 1995, and continued to teach computer systems to the United States military in the European Command.
Returning to the states in 2006, Dr. Gravis, as he was referred to by Washington, D.C. Navy Yard and Pentagon co-workers, worked on improving the reliability and performance of the U.S. Military’s computer networks, and worked in the field of Information Assurance. Charles received professional certifications of Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and Project Management Professional (PMP), and as a Civil-Servant, a GS-13 rating.
Charles attended both the Universalist National Memorial Church and Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C., and personally assisted in feeding the poor at Martha’s Table, a food pantry in D.C. related to the Charity So Others May Eat (S.O.M.E.).
Charles loved learning, philosophical discussions, and making people laugh by telling stories and jokes. He memorized an entire book of Aggie jokes and needed little provocation to start telling one after another. He smiled at the irony of Texas A&I becoming A&M-Kingsville, retroactively making him an Aggie.
Charles will be deeply missed by his friends, family, co-workers and those whose lives he touched. Services to celebrate his life will be held Friday, January 8, 2010 at 10:30 a.m. at the First Methodist Church in Alice, Texas.
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I only recently learned that Dr. Charles Gravis has died. Charles was a leader in the Wesley Foundation at the State University of New York at Buffalo, the United Methodist Campus Ministry, during the time that I had the honor to serve as Director. During this time Charles was one of the spark plugs that helped build the organization. He was a wonderful person to be around and always, always, had a smile on his face. I was there when he left Buffalo and only had the opportunity to speak to him one time in Germany. I will miss him. Thank you for this opportunity to say goodbye to a wonderful person.
The Rev. Dr. John A. Kamaras
United Methodist Minister
Tucson, Arizona
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Kandy Rust (Odom-Turner) (1972)
You are missed and We Texas A&I alumni are NOT Aggies,Doug Farrell (1967)
Charles Gravis was a unique person..Charles, of MENSA intelligence, could deal with and relate to the common man....Never once, did he belittle or berate someone for their lact of intelligence, a trait very rarely found.....A gentle soul , who loved his fellow man, with friends all over the World...A scientist,with a deep rooted love for his Country, his family, and his friends from Alice,Texas....He will truly be missed! All honor to his name!