Charles Husted Obituary (2021) – Lousiville, CO

Charles (“Chuck”) E. Husted died peacefully of natural causes on September 12th, 2021. He was 87 years old and spent his last months with friends and family frequently by his side.
Chuck was born on New Year’s Day, 1934 in Lamar, CO to Alma and Harold Husted who were ranchers, farmers, and auto dealers. After graduating from Lamar High School in 1951 he attended CU-Boulder on a ROTC scholarship, graduating with a degree in business. He then entered the US Navy as a 2nd Lieutenant based in various West coast locales. After serving four years in the Navy, Chuck returned to CU-Boulder and completed his master’s in accounting. He then joined the Denver office of accounting firm Touche Ross & Associates in 1960 where he worked for over 30 years until retirement. In 1969 he attained the role of Partner and eventually Partner in Charge of the Denver office. Soon after the firm merged to become Deloitte & Touche, Chuck retired at the age of 58. Chuck lived in Boulder on the “Hill” until just after retirement, then moved to the Cherry Creek area of Denver where he enjoyed being closer to old friends from his Touche Ross days and making many new friends while enjoying all the restaurants and culture Denver has to offer. Wherever he was, he endeared himself to whomever he met.
Growing up in Lamar along the Arkansas River, Chuck was naturally an avid outdoorsman and continued fly fishing and duck hunting well into retirement. Upon moving to Boulder from Lamar for college, he continued to fall in love with the Colorado mountains from childhood camp experiences in the Winter Park area, and added hiking, backpacking, ski touring, and skiing to the list. He was fortunate and hard-working enough to feed those passions with a share of prime Platte River duck hunting property near Greeley and a condominium in Vail, and then in Snowmass. The duck property was a zen-like experience for Chuck even when not hunting. As an example, he would go early in the morning each cold New Year’s day, also his birthday, just to “contemplate life.” In the mountains, Snowmass became his favorite mountain destination over the past 25 years. He extensively explored the Roaring Fork valley discovering beautiful out-of-the-way hikes and little-known fishing holes. And, although he appreciated the Aspen restaurants, he loved an out of the way place in Basalt or Carbondale, or a dive like Woody Creek Tavern, and he was quite well known at Il Pogio in Snowmass close to his home base. As with everywhere he went, he began accumulating friends and acquaintances whose faces light up when you mention his name.
While as sensible as they come, Chuck did have a passion for sports cars and owned three consecutive Alpha Romeo Spiders in the 70s and 80s; dark blue, red, and finally beige. As his primary transportation from home in Boulder to work in downtown Denver, there were many snowy nights when the Alpha ended up parked at the bottom of the hill at the west end of College Avenue and Chuck would trudge up the slippery slope in the snow outfitted in dress shoes, suit, and briefcase at his side like any good CPA.
Chuck will be remembered for his kindness and generosity, and a long list of accomplishments that such a modest man would never tell you about, but his family will list a few. He earned the highest score on the CPA exam in the state of Colorado the year he took it. He served on the boards of Boulder Community Hospital including the role of President, the Denver Symphony including the role of President, the Denver Area United Way including the role of Chairman, and the Denver Country Club including the role of President.
Chuck was preceded in death by his father Harold, his older daughter Lauren, his mother Alma, his brother Joel, and his sister Jane Strickland. He is survived by his daughter Jennifer Husted Seessel, son-in-law Drew Seessel, and grand daughters Katherine and Lauren, all of Bozeman, MT, and his son Chris Husted and daughter-in-law Portia Husted of Boulder, CO, and his ex-wife and mother of his children, Alison Burghardt of Boulder, CO.
The family would like to thank the staffs at The Academy in Boulder, Balfour Senior Living in Louisville, and TRU Community Care for all their help making Chuck’s last months as comfortable as possible. If you wish to make a contribution on Chuck’s behalf please consider the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business, Ducks Unlimited, or TRU Community Care.
A Celebration of Life reception will be held later in the year.