Charles Earl Carlsen

Charles Earl Carlsen passed away on October 12th, 2024, at the age of 71. Chuck is survived by his sister, Melody; his brother & sister-in-law, Tom & Lolita; and a few very close lifelong friends. The Celebration of Life on Saturday, November 9th from 2 PM to 5 PM at  Ox and Cats sports bar in Monches. W302N9510 CR-E, Hartland WI Oxandcats.com Beer and food free for guests

Better known as Chuck, he lived life by his own rules and died on his own terms; smoking cigarettes until the end and enjoying cans of Hamms beer. 

Chuck’s younger version loved muscle cars and often dragged raced his orange1969 Dodge Dart on the streets of Milwaukee. One of Chuck’s passions was Skydiving; he was known as Church to the skydiving crowd because of a misspelling of his name in a local paper. He was considered a legend at the jump zone. Chuck was also a fantastic skier with a graceful skiing style that made the difficult look easy. He enjoyed riding motorcycles and once road a small Honda 350 to Colorado and back. 

Beyond his passions for excitement, Chuck was a skilled craftsman. He won first place in a national sheet metal design and build competition for metal working apprentices. He also bought a rundown house in Milwaukee for one dollar and restored it to like-new condition. Then, for a greater challenge, he bought an old farmhouse on 16 acres of land with plans on restoring it. Chuck turned that old building into his estate. Although the house never quite got finished, it was his castle and final home. 

Chuck worked for the Tritech Corporation as a sheet metal expert building industrial driers. He finished his work career designing equipment for the paper tube industry for the Callenor Company in Menomonee Fall, WI. 

Chuck’s older version mellowed out over time; just spending time enjoying his land and the peace and quiet it provided was adventure enough. He enjoyed just sitting on his front porch at dusk; watching nature come to life as the sun set. A feral cat he named Molly started hanging around every evening and he slowly gained her trust with food and a warm place to sleep. 

He was different things to different people: a younger brother, an older brother, a best friend. But to everyone Chuck was genuine.