Charles "Charlie" Pritchard James II

Charles Pritchard James II (Charlie), age 71, passed away on May 9th, 2023.

Charlie was born in Pennsylvania to Charles and Helen James. Shortly after his birth, his father, an Episcopal Priest, moved the family to Miami Beach, FL. He lived in Miami through fourth grade, inspiring his lifelong love of beaches. In the fifth grade, his family relocated to Battle Creek, MI, remaining there through his high school years. A natural athlete, Charlie was a tackle and long snapper on his State Championship-winning football team. In addition, he was a competitive high school swimmer, discovering years later that he had missed becoming All-American on his relay team by 1/1000 of a second.

Upon graduating high school, he received a football scholarship to Albion College, a small liberal arts college in Albion, MI. His collegiate football career was cut short following an injury, whereupon Charlie shifted his passion to geology, pottery, and college hijinks. He always regaled listeners that the best part of college was the summer he spent recovering from mono at a geology field camp in Jackson Hole, WY, where in addition to doing interesting work, he discovered "real" Mexican food, hot springs, horseback rides, and the joy of discovering Yellowstone National Park.

Graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geology, he continued his post-graduate education at Boston College to pursue a Master's degree in Geology. His graduate thesis centered on a new sand and water flow model that helped in understanding the beach creation and erosion processes. This study took him to beaches across Massachusetts, where he spent time living in cottages and older lighthouses while gathering date for his thesis. After enjoying four and a half years at Boston College, Charlie graduated and moved to New Orleans for a job with Exxon where he worked in the Production, Drilling, and Prospecting groups.

In 1989 Charlie married Laurie Gleason, who worked with his brother Michael at Volunteers of America in Denver. Charlie and Laurie were married for 22 years. The couple's only child, Chas, was born in Houston in 1991. The family moved to the Denver area shortly after Chas' birth, living in Highlands Ranch for 20 years where he was active in leading Cub Scouts troops, teaching Sunday school, attending Volunteers of America fund raisers and the Home Handyman Program, and being active in Chas' soccer and ice hockey. Despite an extremely busy schedule, Charlie's most important activity was parenting.

After the move to Denver, Charlie pivoted his career into geologic software development, training, and consulting. During these years, he created an impressive application to model rock properties. These consulting positions allowed him to travel around the world including Indonesia, Egypt, South Africa, Venezuela, Columbia and Mexico.

Charlie had many outstanding qualities, but perhaps foremost was his ability to build relationships and community around him. This is exemplified by the lifelong friendships he maintained and the new friendships he continued to develop throughout his life. Most recently he was an active participant at his apartment complex with silent auctions, potlucks, bridge, Rummikub, dominos, water aerobics, water volleyball, backgammon, happy hour, and of course, NFL Redzone watch parties. Charlie's thirst for knowledge was never diminished.

He is survived by his son Chas and daughter-in law Crista; his brother Michael and sister-in law Christi; sister Debbie Woods and brother-in law Bokie; and his ex-wife, Laurie.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM on Thursday May 25, 2023 at Christ Church located at 2950 S University Blvd, Denver, CO 80210.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to either:

Sun Valley Kitchen and Community Center:

- Mailing Address: 1260 Decatur St. Denver, CO 80204

- Donation Link: https://feedingsunvalley.kindful.com/embeds/049a5f0f-572c-4e79-9987-30208a8f7cb3

Volunteers of America Colorado:

- Mailing Address: 2660 Larimer St. Denver, CO 80205

- Donation Link: https://donate.voa.org/site/Donation2;jsessionid=00000000.app30014b?df_id=21485&mfc_pref=T&21485.donation=form1&NONCE_TOKEN=09172EF7962EFD5CF875D2B2817B73F6