Charles Vance Peery, II

Dr. Charles Vance Peery, II, 71, died Saturday October 6 at home in the arms of his wife Elaine after a long battle with illness. He was born June 22, 1941 in Kinston, North Carolina, the son of Dr. Vance Price Peery and Elizabeth Woodley Peery. He is preceded in death by his sister, Elizabeth Woodley Peery, and survived by two sons, Dr. Charles Andrew Peery of Durham, North Carolina and Mr. Christopher Saunders Peery of Charleston, South Carolina. In the last two years of his life he was pleased to add a grandson, Mr. John Ethan Peery.

Charlie was a graduate of Davidson College and Duke University Medical School. After military service as a cancer researcher at the National Institutes of Health, Charlie trained in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Medical College of Virginia. On completion of his training he moved with his young family to Charleston, initially going into practice with Dr. James Wilson. Together they were the first ob/gyn's at the new North Trident Hospital. In addition to delivering thousands of babies, Charlie wrote numerous publications and talks on the then emerging technology of ob ultrasound, which is now the standard of care for all pregnant women. He remained in practice at Trident until a stroke forced him to give up surgical work in 2000.

After his stroke, Charlie retrained in hyberbaric medicine, with a special focus on the potential benefits of hyperbaric oxygen in the treatment of traumatic brain injury. He formed close relationships with many of his patients, and he continued his practice until worsening health forced his reluctant retirement from medicine in 2009.

From medical school onward, Charlie also pursued a second career as a historian of civil war naval history. In his twenties, Charlie and his friends carried out the first excavation of the blockade runner Ella, sunk off the coast of North Carolina. Throughout his subsequent life, Charlie traveled throughout the United States and Europe to collect books, artifacts, and paintings that documented the period. He often hosted researchers and collectors at his home, and gave numerous talks throughout the United States. Charlie was proud to serve on the board of the Friends of the Hunley, and his collection is now intimately tied to the planned Hunley Museum.

Charlie leaves behind a legacy of passionate exploration along with many saddened family and friends. A Funeral Service will be held on Thursday October 11, 2012 at Grace Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina at 2:00 pm. A reception will follow in the parish hall, and interment will be in Magnolia Cemetery. Arrangements by J. HENRY STUHR, INC., MOUNT PLEASANT CHAPEL. The family will receive friends at the Mount Pleasant Chapel on Wednesday, October 10, 2012 from 5:00 until 7:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Friends of the Hunley, P.O. Box 21600, Charleston, SC 29413 or Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, Kansas 66675.