Shelly Charles

CHARLES, Shelly Elizabeth

Shelly Elizabeth Charles, 81, of Atlanta passed away on May 4th, 2021 after a short illness. The eldest child of Alice Lee (Stone) Charles and James Shelly Charles, Shelly grew up in Atlanta. She nurtured an adventurous and entrepreneurial spirit, an independent mind, and a love of travel throughout her life. A rare and unique individual for her time and location, her husband chose to call her Belle Fleur, and all friends and family agreed that the nickname perfectly suited Shelly's spirit and demeanor.



Her love of travel and adventure was influenced by her father, a pioneer Eastern Airlines pilot and sail plane enthusiast, who took Shelly to many aviation events. From an early age, Shelly had a passion for horses and became an accomplished equestrienne showing her gated, harness and pleasure horses across the Southeast. At fourteen, she won the amateur five-gaited championship in Florida.



Shelly loved to travel to Europe and around the U.S. During college, she took her first trip to Europe with her late friend Joanne Wash. The two women spent over a year living in Spain and traveling around Europe and North Africa.



From her mother, Shelly inherited a love of fashion, decorating, and music. Her favorite event during her teen years was the annual performance of the New York Metropolitan Opera during their stop in Atlanta. After graduation from the Lovett School and Northside High School, she attended the University of Miami, participating in the Chi Omega sorority before transferring to The Tobe-Coburn School for Fashion Careers in New York City. Returning to Atlanta from Spain and working in New York, Shelly became the assistant to the fashion director and manager of the Teen Board at department store Davison-Paxon (now Macy's).



Later, she started the catering company Truffles with a friend, which expanded into two gourmet cookware shops and a cooking school in Buckhead. She worked for Turner Broadcasting in the public relations department, championing such initiatives as the CNN Studio Tours and the Turner Stores. Shelly also turned her hobby of photography into a successful weekend business shooting weddings. Later, she joined Ketchum Public Relations as executive assistant to the CEO, and held that position until her retirement.



In December 2003, Shelly met Phil Gowdy at a Christmas party, and the pair discovered that they had grown up in the same neighborhood and both loved to travel. They married two years later on the beach in St. John, USVI and continued traveling together through March 2021. Their favorite and most often visited foreign destination was Paris. They also enjoyed cruises onCunard's Queen Elizabeth 2 and Queen Mary 2. They also loved spending part of each year at Seagrove Beach in Florida.



Shelly is survived by her husband, Phillip C. Gowdy, her brother Richard Charles and his wife Patty, her former sister-in-law Judy Charles, niece Elizabeth Brigham and nephew Rick Charles. Her half-brother James S. Charles, Jr. pre-deceased her.



The family will have a private service at the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta. Memorial donations can be made to the Mark E. Silverman Endowment Chair at Piedmont Healthcare Foundation, 1968 Peachtree Rd., NW, Atlanta, GA 30309.