Paul Foster Chiles of Fort Mill, South Carolina, slipped peacefully into the arms of his beloved Savior on the morning of Saturday, May 16, 2026, at the age of 88. Those who loved him grieve his absence even as they rejoice without reservation, for Paul lived his whole life pointed toward the One he now sees face to face.

Born January 27, 1938, in Columbia, South Carolina, to Walter Hale Chiles, Sr. and Ruth Knopf Chiles, Paul was, from the start, a young man unafraid of a long way around. He studied at Carson-Newman University in Tennessee and filled the years between with a remarkable range of pursuits—crossing the country by freight train, driving trucks in Washington State, fighting forest fires in Oregon. In Chicago he worked among the homeless on Skid Row, bought himself a Studebaker, and pointed it south toward home. Looking back, it is easy to see the man he would become already taking shape: drawn to the road less traveled, and to the people most others passed by. He would go on to answer a call to ministry, graduating from Southeastern Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina.

Paul’s working life was as varied as his adventures. He taught high school English, cared for vulnerable children through Social Services, served the state of North Carolina as a restaurant health inspector, and was a chaplain in the North Carolina Army National Guard. As pastor of Gibson Baptist Church in Gibson, North Carolina, he met Emily Edge of Wagram, North Carolina—and on November 28,1970, she became his wife. They shared 55 years of devoted marriage, and to the end they called each other “dear heart.” 

For decades, First Baptist Church of Charlotte was Paul’s church home, and from it flowed a ministry of tireless, joyful service. For more than thirty years he taught Sunday school in Charlotte’s jails and led Bible studies in prisons across the Charlotte area. Each week he walked from the church to the jail to meet with a group of homeless friends, gathering their names and prayer requests and carrying every one of them to the Lord in the days that followed. His compassion reached well beyond Charlotte: he traveled on mission to Morocco, served for many years at children’s camp, and went wherever there was need—to Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina, and to Oklahoma and Alabama in the wake of devastating tornadoes. Whether a need was financial, emotional, or spiritual, Paul met it with an open heart.

He was also a man of irrepressible creativity and delight. He wrote songs—among them “Say Maybe” and “Carolina Time,” recorded at the renowned Arthur Smith Studios in Charlotte—and penned several one-act plays, including The Dogs Can’t Stand It, which were performed locally. He played a remarkable range of instruments—spoons, bones, washboard, upright bass, guitar, piano, even a thimble—though it was the harmonica which he loved best. He was a member of the Charlotte Writers Club and of the Carolina Clowns. He performed his own whimsical Flea Circus, loved to juggle, was wonderful on the tandem bicycle, and never quite gave up on his dream of riding a unicycle. 

What everyone who knew Paul remembers most, though, was the way he made each person feel seen, known, and treasured. He never took himself too seriously, but he took his relationship with Jesus Christ very seriously indeed. He beheld the magnificence of God’s creation with a heart full of wonder, delighting in it like one who never lost the gift of seeing the world freshly. A vegetarian long before it was fashionable, he lived simply and generously, putting family and friends ahead of himself in matters great and small. He leaves behind a legacy of humility, laughter, radiant joy, and an unshakable delight in the Lord. 

Paul was preceded in death by his parents, Walter Hale Chiles, Sr. and Ruth Knopf Chiles, and by his brother, Walter Hale Chiles, II. He is survived by his “dear heart” and devoted wife of 55 years, Emily Edge Chiles; his son, Isaac Beverly Chiles, and daughter-in-law, Emily Katherine Chiles; his grandson,  Ezra Foster Chiles, who carries his name; and his granddaughter, Katherine Tate Chiles. He is also survived by a host of extended family—nieces, nephews, and loved ones across many generations—and by the countless friends, fellow believers, and strangers-turned-companions whose lives he touched. 

A visitation will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, at Palmetto Funeral Home in Fort Mill, South Carolina, followed by a service of remembrance and celebration at 2:00 p.m. The family is deeply honored that the Reverend Kevin Mills will officiate and that Dr. Dale Robertson will take part—two men dear to Paul and to his family, both traveling to be present to celebrate his life.

The family rejoices that Paul is home at last, in the presence of the Savior he loved and served so faithfully.

"Well done, good and faithful servant."