Charles Taylor Darden, 83, passed away Wednesday, March 19, 2008. He was born July 17, 1924, in Isle of Wight County where he resided all his life. He was the son of the late William Jackson and Daisy Murphy Darden. Charles was also preceded in death by a daughter, Cynthia Darden Warren. Charles had a love for farming and operating his business, Isle of Wight Grainery, from which he retired in 1987. Charles had a strong work ethic and was known by everyone to be fair-minded and honest in all business dealings. He was a peanut buyer for Golden Peanut Company and later Birdsong Peanut Company. In 1965, he fought vigorously for a spout sampler instead of the pneumatic sampler for the grading of peanuts so that the farmer and the miller would get a fairer grading of the peanuts. He was considered to be an inventive farmer when he was the first in Isle of Wight County to design a peanut cleaner for farmers to clean their peanuts before selling them at the buying station. In the early 60s, he was a fertilizer agent for Smith-Douglas and served on the Agriculture Soil and Conservation Board. He was unanimously named to the Isle of Wight County School Board by the electoral board in 1965 and served the Newport District for four years. Mr. Darden served on The Board of Directors at the Merchants & Farmers Bank through the merger with Sovran and later Virginia National Bank. Charles Taylor was a man of faith who loved his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He served his childhood church, Isle of Wight Christian Church, as a deacon, replacing his father's position in that roll. In 1985, he became a member of First Baptist Church in Suffolk and was a member of the Thurman Hayes Sunday School class until his death. Charles Taylor also had a love for flying. In 1959 when there was a shortage of polio vaccine in Onslow County, N.C., he flew his 4-place Tri-Pacer to that area and carried Salk vaccine to the polio-stricken county. On Sept. 27, 1952, he married Mary Charlotte Turner with whom he shared 56 years of wonderful memories. He also leaves to cherish his memory, a son, William Taylor Darden and his fiancee, Donna Rippeth; three daughters, Mary Warren Darden Rose and her husband, Freddie, Valerie Shea Darden Handy, and Yvonne Louise Darden Piland and her husband, Dean; nine grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, two sisters, Grace Darden Lankford and Vivian Darden Rountree; and many nieces and nephews. A Life Celebration Service will be conducted at 2 p.m. Saturday in Colonial Funeral Home Chapel, Smithfield, with the Rev. Dr. Bryan Ray and Rev. T.A. Powell officiating. Burial will follow in Uzzell United Methodist Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. today in the funeral home and at other times in the home. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Building Fund at First Baptist Church, 237 N. Main St., Suffolk, VA 23434 or The American Cancer Society, IOW Relay for Life, c/o Mrs. Lois Little, P.O. Box 4, Rescue, VA 23424.