Charles Joseph Wyly, Jr., - Submitted for the USGenWeb by Richard P. Sevier 11/5/2011

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Charles Joseph Wyly, Jr., - Madison Parish, Louisiana

From The Dallas Morning News August 8, 2011

Charles Joseph Wyly, Jr., age 77, died tragically on Sunday, August 7, 2011 in a car accident in Aspen, Colorado. He was born on October 13, 1933 in Lake Providence, Louisiana. Charles graduated from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana. He is survived by his college sweetheart and devoted wife of 56 years, Caroline "Dee" Wyly; his beloved children, daughter Martha and her husband Don Miller, son Charles Joseph Wyly III (Chip), daughter Emily Wyly, daughter Jennifer and her husband Jim Lincoln; and as "Pops" to his grandchildren, Trey, Carla, Chris, Dulaney, Meghan, Wyly, Jessie and great-granddaughter Hunter Caroline. He is also survived by his best friend and brother, Samuel Evans Wyly and his wife Cheryl, and Sam's children, Evan, Laurie, Lisa, Kelly, Andrew and Christiana.

He is preceded in death by their first child Carla Elizabeth Wyly and his parents Flora and Charles J. Wyly, Sr.

Well known for his many business accomplishments, he will be especially remembered for his great love of family, devotion to his church, and his passion for philanthropy and community.

Charles embodied goodness and a peaceful nature. He was a comforting, wise and loving husband, father and grandfather. He had a unique gift of expressing love, dignity and grace to everyone he came in contact with. He was respected as a man that always gave more than he took. Charles will always be lovingly remembered as a gentle man and a true Southern gentleman.

Charles and his family share a deep love for their Aspen/Woody Creek home as well as their longtime residence in Dallas. The family is in the process of planning a memorial service to be held in Dallas for his family, friends, business colleagues and the numerous organizations that were dear to his heart. The date and place has yet to be decided.

The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, contributions be sent to The Salvation Army, 8787 North Stemmons Freeway, Suite 800, Dallas, Texas 75247 or www.salvationarmydfw.org

NOTE: Charles and his brother Sam (Bubba) lived in Tallulah during the mid-1940’s. RPS

From The New York Times August 9, 2011

Charles Wyly, who amassed a fortune building and trading companies that sold products as diverse as crafts supplies and electricity, died on Sunday in a traffic accident in Colorado. He was 77.

The Colorado State Patrol said Mr. Wyly was killed when the Porsche he was driving was hit by a sport utility vehicle close to the airport that serves Aspen, Colo., near where Mr. Wyly has a home. He had gone to the airport for a cup of coffee and a newspaper. The driver of the S.U.V. suffered moderate injuries.

With his younger brother, Sam, Charles Wyly left rural Louisiana to build a business empire that, at various times, encompassed restaurants (Bonanza Steakhouse), crafts supplies (Michaels Stores), a hedge fund (Maverick Capital) and renewable electricity (Green Mountain Energy).

In Texas, where the brothers were based, they and their wives gave $20 million to help build the Dallas performing arts center.

They also used their wealth, estimated at more than $1 billion, to support Republican candidates and causes, donating $300,000 to Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, according to the Texas Ethics Commission, and, by their own estimate, more than $10 million to Republican candidates and causes since the 1970s.

They gave about $30,000 for the Swift Boat campaign against Senator John Kerry in 2004. Mr. Wyly later said he regretted not studying the ads more closely. Last summer, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against the Wylys’ empire, accusing it of using offshore havens to hide more than $500 million in profits over 13 years of insider stock trading. The brothers denied wrongdoing, saying that the suit, which is still pending, was “good politics” and that they would be cleared.

Charles Wyly was born Oct 13, 1933, in Lake Providence, La., and for a period lived with his family in a shack without electricity or plumbing. Charles focused on the details and operations of companies they acquired. Sam plotted grand strategy. Both were practicing Christian Scientists. They worked for I.B.M. in the early 1960s, but quickly started University Computing, a software company. They bought or founded other companies and developed a reputation as fast and skilled investors, with an appetite for risk and occasional ruthlessness in taking over companies and cutting payroll costs.

They sold Sterling Software for $4 billion in 2000, and six years later, they sold Michaels for $6 billion.

By then, the S.E.C. had started investigating trusts and shell companies in two tax havens — the Isle of Man and the Cayman Islands — that were eventually linked to the brothers. In 2006, a Senate subcommittee report said the Wylys had used hundreds of millions in untaxed dollars to buy such items as a $622,000 ruby and a $937,500 painting. The S.E.C. contended they had used those shell companies to obscure their ownership of stock in companies where they were board members. Its lawsuit sought to impose penalties and seize $550 million it said they had made from improper activities.

The brothers declined to discuss the suit, though Charles told a New York Times reporter that he regretted the stain.

“My reputation is more important to me than anything,” he said last year. “To the extent that people are bombarded with information, they might have the wrong impression. That bothers me.”

Besides his brother, Mr. Wyly is survived by his wife, Caroline; three daughters, Martha Miller, Emily Wyly and Jennifer Lincoln; a son, Charles; and seven grandchildren