Isham Trotter "Tres" Bagley, III

 
Mr. Isham Trotter “Trés” Bagley, III was a big, strong, sometimes difficult, but big hearted man. When he was out of the hospital and before Hospice, he was continuing to work on one of his many projects. Occasionally, playing a hand (or three) of gin rummy helped him to forget about the cancer for a little while. No one let him win. He would have to win through perseverance and determination, just the way he approached life all the way to the end. Like all of us, he regularly broke the hearts of those he loved and loved him...but he usually had a way of "making things right." He had many gifts. These will be so easy for loved ones to hold tight to. First, there was his obvious physical strength and charm. He had almost a Sampson like strength, and his charm could fill a room. He was a gifted craftsman... Designing and creating beautiful pieces of furniture and such. He was also an incredible landscape artist and talented chef. And when it came to fishing...some called him a "fish charmer," with a gift for luring fish when fish just weren't biting. He enjoyed watching the occasional ballgame, and was always front and center on Saturday nights to pull for his favorite competitors in UFC fights. These and so much more made up our Tres'. But the one thing that stands out most...the "Gift from God" he was meant to share with others...would have to be that of "charity." He would give of himself or his last dollar to family, friends, or a total stranger, and never look back. Those who truly knew him...knew his big heart. He wasn't a "religious" man, but very much believed in God, in Christ Jesus, and it was through Him that he endured the pain of this terrible disease. It was with the loving prayer and guidance of his grandmother, "Granny," Ethel Wrenn Burnette, who preceded him in death, that his faith was cultivated at all, as a child. She left him at the age of 104 on Tres' August 15 birthday in 2014. He always felt she "hung on" in order to share that date with him.  She was a surrogate mother and guiding hand in his life, as his immediate family was distant. Thankfully, he was learning the importance of forgiveness as he battled this aggressive cancer. He didn't pretend to be someone or something he wasn't. He required love and patience himself, and though ill prepared for much of his life to extend the same to others, he ultimately did. He always loved deeply, and it is  believed that he finally mastered the patience he had so longed for. He requested and met with a minister, and finally learned of true forgiveness just before he went to sleep. He was also preceded in death by his mother, Martha Burnette Bagley, and his Father-in-Law, Ben E Coleman, Sr.
He is leaving behind, his loving family, wife, Theresa, and kids, Coral, Spencer, Joshua and Joshua's family (Kacey, Island, and Olivia), his mother-in-law, Winifred S. (Winnie) Coleman, and many friends he made and treasured throughout his lifetime. Also, his father, Isham Trotter Bagley, Jr., and one brother, Chadwick and family remain. Tres' graduated from Ravenscroft High School in Raleigh, NC, and continued from there to East Carolina University.
His service and burial will be with the Coleman family of Pilot Mountain, Sunday, May 30th at 2:00 pm, at the Pinnacle United Methodist Church Cemetery with Reverend Robin Johnson officiating. Mr. Bagley will lay in state at Cox-Needham Funeral Home from 1:00 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 27, 2021; Friday, May 28, 2021 and Saturday, May 29, 2021 from 8:30 until 4:30 p.m.; and Sunday, May 30, 2021 from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
“Sleep peacefully, my big man.  May God have mercy on your once restless soul, and may you finally know peace in a world without pain.” 

"I love you. We love you."

Donations may be made to the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer: Lustgarten Foundation  415 Crossways Park Drive, Suite D, Woodbury, NY 11797 https://lustgarten.org/donate/
 

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