More detail on this person: Eugene Charles Chalaire passed away after a brief illness, peacefully into the arms of his Lord and Savior at 9:07pm New Year's Eve, 2024 surrounded by family, friends, and his pastor. Gene, the son of Collins Chalaire Sr. and Madeline Rodriquez Chalaire, was born on August 17th, 1944 and raised in New Orleans, LA. After Catholic Boarding School, Gene attended LSU for a short time, until, on a hiatus to care for his parents, he was called into military service. He met the love of his life, Mary Lee Payne Chalaire, while in Officer Candidate School, and after a brief 3 month courtship, they were married for the next 40 years until her passing on Mother's Day, 2007. Gene became a helicopter pilot and served in Vietnam in 1968. Shortly before the birth of their only child, Kelly - he hitchhiked from his training base across 2 States to make it home for her arrival. That is who he was. A man that would do anything for family and for his friends who were just like family to him. Being a pilot was his dream job and his pride. He loved serving his Country flying Chinooks, Hueys and other helicopters, and was training on the newest gunship- Blackhawk, but never flew that in battle. He survived many close calls and harrowing experiences, including flying into "hot zones" to draw enemy fire to support troops, pin point rescue landings to pull soldiers out of the line of fire, and even being shot down once- earning him the Distinguished Flying Cross among numerous other medals of honor. True War Hero-check! An entrepreneur at heart, Gene left military service to dive into the world of self employment with the purchase of Open Arms Rest Home along with his wife and a dear friend and partner. After several years, Gene and Mary Lee sold to the partner and went on to open several businesses together, including a makeup distributorship, a dress shop, a balloon shop, and their longest pursuit- Calico Corner Florist, which they owned for approximately 30 years. After Mary Lee's passing, and the fire destruction of the original Calico Corner on New Year's Eve, Gene rebuilt the shop, but soon decided it was time to move onto the next phase and sold it to its current owner. A longstanding relationship with the Crumpler Family, from not only years of working together with the cohesiveness of their business and flowers, but also a strong personal relationship between families led to Gene's last career change to work for Crumpler Funeral Home. He loved working period, but to find a place where he could care for and console others fit his personality perfectly! He came in for continuing education class the week before he left this earth, so he could make sure he was providing what he needed- no thoughts of retirement-his work was family and his job was spiritually fulfilling. Faith, family and friends were Gene's driving force. A jokester, always up for a laugh, an adventure, or a conversation- he had more friends than a jar has pennies. And not just friends.his church and his" friend family" were his world, along with his grandbabies. For a true testament to his kindness and loyalty, look at his friends. Friends that would bring dinner to him every night when he was ill, friends that would follow him and advocate for his care when family was far, friends that would watch out for his home for him, friends that are as shattered as we are. Gene is survived by his daughter, Kelly Chalaire Parker (Michael) of McComb, MS and his grandchildren, Charlotte and Jamie Parker, and by his amazing and loyal friends and co workers. Preceded in death by his parents and an older brother, Collins Chalaire, Jr. There is nothing he wouldn't do for someone if they needed him- whether they were a best friend or a stranger. My dad, the "whistler", the "adventurer", the "faithful servant", the "loyal friend", the true hero. My hero. Honorary pallbearers: Rick Sandy, Rick Wilhide, Carmello Rosario, Robert Capps, and Michael Martin. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be may to the First Baptist Church of Raeford. A visitation will be held from 2-3 pm on Sunday, January 05, 2025 at the First Baptist Church of Raeford. A service will follow at 3 pm in the church. Inurnment will be in the Raeford City Cemetery with military honors.
Burial information: Raeford City Cemetery
This information was last updated 07/22/2025
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Date posted on this site: 10/13/2025
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