Aaron Chesley Bray III, 65, passed away January 19th at his little cottage and sanctuary in the
woods of Blue Springs, Mississippi. Aaron passed away peacefully after a two-year journey with
cancer (as he preferred to call it).
He was born to Phyllis Pomy Bray & Aaron Chesley Bray, Jr. on October 6th, 1953 at Ft.
Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Aaron was a third generation dry cleaner. His grandfather, Chesley Bray, established Bray
Cleaners in 1945 in Bruce, MS.
His father, Aaron Chesley Jr., established Aaron's Cleaners in Houston, Mississippi in 1960 and
a few years later opened another location in Aberdeen.
In the early 80's Aaron began to rebuild dry cleaning equipment on the side and later formed
Aaron's Equipment Sales offering machinery rebuilds, parts, service, equipment packages, and
plant layouts to customers across Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. He formed close
business relationships with One Hour Martinizing in Tupelo, Dryve Cleaners in Memphis, and
was a consultant and close friend to Jim Weaver and his family at Deluxe Cleaners in
Birmingham, Alabama until the time of his death.
Aaron and his wife Nancy worked with his mother Phyllis at Aaron's Cleaners in Houston and
expanded locations to Vardaman and Houlka. After her death in 1983, they expanded to
Okolona and Calhoun City and then opened a second drive-thru location in Houston. Aaron's
Cleaners was known for their 99 cent blue jean specials on Wednesdays.
In 1988, Aaron relocated his family to Memphis to open an Aaron's Equipment Sales showroom
adding new equipment lines, parts, and service.
In 1990, Aaron's Equipment Sales was purchased by The Johnson Group and Aaron's Cleaners
in Houston was sold.
Aaron became a manager, along with Jody Mard, at Park Place Cleaners in Memphis until he
was promoted to manager of maintenance and new location expansion at Al Phillips The
Cleaner in Las Vegas in 1991. Aaron felt he received his true education in the dry cleaning
business while working with Mel & Phil Shapiro until 1995 when he purchased Classique
Cleaners in Nashville, Tennessee and relocated his family there. He purchased Ralph's
Cleaners shortly after and then changed the name to Chesley The Cleaner in honor of his
grandfather Chesley. He purchased White Way Cleaners, the oldest and largest cleaners in
Nashville in 2004 where he continued to expand pick up and delivery routes and took great
pride in working closely with The Drug Court Program, providing jobs and training for men and
women while they were in the program. He also felt blessed to have all three of his children
involved in the family business. Aaron remained the owner of Chesley The Cleaner until the
flood of 2010 which destroyed the location on Davidson Street very close to the Cumberland
River near downtown Nashville.
He worked at Lowe's from 2013 to 2016 and continued dry cleaning consulting until he and his
wife relocated to Seattle, Washington in 2016, where they worked at Blue Sky Cleaners with
their two sons Sheldon and Jon.
In May of 2018, Aaron and Nancy purchased their beloved sanctuary in Blue Springs where
Aaron completed many indoor and outdoor projects. He was an avid gardener, artist, and loved
sharing his knowledge and helping others with ozone therapy, essential oil remedies, and CBD
C02 extraction and usage.
He was a member of the Boy Scout Troop 19 in Houston and earned his Life Badge while under
the leadership of one of his greatest mentors, Bobby Dendy. He was a graduate of Houston
High School class of 1971. He also earned an associate degree from American School Of
Drafting in the 1980s.
He was also member of The Immaculate Heart Of Mary Church in Houston, Mississippi where
he wed in 1973 and where all his children were christened.
Aaron is preceded in death by his mother, Phyllis Ann Bray, and his father, Aaron Chesley Bray,
Jr.
He leaves behind his loving wife, Nancy, and their three children Sheldon (Amie), Jon (Jessica),
and Georganna Bray (partner Willie Stewart). Aaron will also be dearly missed by his four
grandsons Ethan, Abner, Aidan, and Arian. He is also survived by his brothers, Mark Bray, of
Houston, Mississippi and Steve Bray, of Murray, Kentucky.
A Memorial Service will be held at The Immaculate Heart Of Mary Catholic Church at 818 North
Jackson Street in Houston, Mississippi, February 16th, at 11:00. In lieu of flowers, please make
donations to the Phyllis Bray Memorial Trust Fund. Donations can be sent to the church
address.