Charles M. "Chuck" Gustafson died peacefully on January 2, 2024 at the age of 85 in Springfield, Illinois with his loving wife, Jan, by his side. He was born in Berwyn, Illinois on December 30, 1938 the oldest of four children born to Ture and Julia (Larson) Gustafson.
Chuck often reminisced about his idyllic childhood in LaGrange, Illinois and Duluth, Minnesota with his younger brothers, Tom and Jim and his sister Ginger, who tragically died in childhood. Chuck graduated from Lyons Township High School in 1957 where he played basketball and was drummer in the band The Swinging Dorx. Chuck stunned his family when he announced that after his junior year he and three friends planned to spend the summer traveling to Alaska in a retrofitted school bus. Many adventures ensured. Upon his return he recalled first hearing the music of a singer who had become a nationwide sensation in his absence, Elvis.
Chuck attended Millikin University and was an active member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon where, for reasons lost to history, he earned the name "Crazy Charlie" and acquired a lifelong fondness for beer.
The most pivotal moment in his life came when he met and started going steady with a lovely Pi Phi named Jan VanAusdall. Immediately after college Chuck served in the Air National Guard logging many miles between Chanute Air Force Base and Jan in his black Morris Minor. They married on July 7, 1962 in Springfield, Illinois and remained a loving and devoted couple until his death more that sixty years later.
Chuck majored in Mechanical Engineering at Millikin but soon found a career he loved in personnel management for several companies including Litton Industries, Avon, Jovan and Turano Baking. Work took Chuck to California and Kentucky but he and Jan returned to the Chicago suburbs in 1971 to be near family, settling in Arlington Heights. He reveled in family life and loved to dress up as Santa on Christmas Eve. On Halloween he greeted trick-or-treaters wearing a crazy costume and delivering a startling blast on his bugle. True to his Scandinavian and Chicago roots, Chuck hand-washed the family car every Saturday when the temperature was above 40 degrees. He also held garage sales so frequently that it became an enduring mystery how there could be excess items in the house to put out for sale. He remained connected to his high school class and enjoyed planning reunions and serving as emcee.
Chuck and Jan bought a summer house, Valhalla, on the Wisconsin River in 1978. With the invaluable help of his brothers Tom and Jim, they built an addition to the original log cabin and Valhalla became a gathering place for extended family. Few who participated in the annual croquet game "The Valhalla Openal" will forget Chuck's flamingo print suit (complete with flamingo shorts, white shoes and top hat) nor his use of a bullhorn to address competitors.
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Charles Gustafson Obituary (1938 - 2024) - Legacy Remembers
