John Charles McSween

Sharon Coil McSween sadly announces the death of her beloved husband of 32 years, John Charles McSween, a resident of Teller County, Colorado for 40 years. John died on October 6, 2023, after a lengthy illness, in Mobile, Alabama, where he maintained a winter residence. He was 71 years old.

Born on December 16, 1951, in Alexandria, Louisiana to Harold B. McSween and Sally Foster, John attended Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts and Boston University. In addition to Sharon, he is survived by John Christopher McSween, his son by a previous marriage, daughter-in-law Melissa and granddaughter Finlay Rose, of Silverthorne, Colorado. John is also survived by stepson Todd Michael Elliott, his wife Christine and their two children Abigail and TC. John was the eldest sibling of Robert Douglas McSween, Elizabeth McSween and Sally McSween Ward, who also survive him.

John was active in Colorado as a real estate broker, investor and accomplished bass player. He frequently played in rock bands, notably the John Cary Band and Dallas Alley, and bluegrass band Back Roads, in Colorado Springs and Woodland Park. He was an enthusiastic lover of sports, music, horses and dogs. Jerry, his Rat Terrier, named after the guitarist Jerry Garcia, was at his side throughout his illness. Having grown up attending many LSU football games in Baton Rouge's Tiger Stadium during the late '50s and '60s, he was a diehard Tigers fan.

John's keen eye in real estate guided him to select his Colorado home on Mt. Pisgah, near Cripple Creek, where its elevation of 10,000 feet provided unobstructed views of the Western Range. He liked¬ to point out to his frequent guests the series of 14,000-foot mountain peaks dotting the expansive horizon, insisting he had the best backyard in America. His Mobile, Alabama home, located on an estuary of the Dog River near Mobile Bay, was ringed by a dozen 200-year old Live Oak trees resplendent with Spanish Moss, flower gardens, fruit trees, Magnolias, Azaleas and Camelias, very much in the Southern tradition.

During the last months of his illness, John was delighted to receive in Mobile many of the close friends that he easily collected over his life, displaying his honed sense of humor, sarcasm, and wisdom earned from a life well lived. He took a hand in writing his own obituary, insisting that there be the following statement, "He thanks his friends for all the remarkable memories."

A Memorial Service will be held for John and his mother Sally Foster Barker who preceded him in death on January 14, 2023. The Service will be at 11:00AM on October 20, 2023 in Alexandria, Louisiana at St. James Episcopal Church. A Celebration of Life will be scheduled at a future date in Colorado. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Florrisant Grange #420, 2009 County Road 31, Florissant, CO 80816 or TCRAS, P.O. Box 904, Divide, CO 80814, in tribute to John's lifelong love of dogs.