Ardyce Charles

1944 - 2026

Charles
Ardyce Charles
December 20, 1944
January 19, 2026

Ardyce Charles passed peacefully at the age of 81, surrounded by her family. Her life was a testament to love, kindness, resilience, courage, and grace. Ard's positive nature and quiet bravery was evident in her everyday life, and there was nothing that meant more to her in the world than her family.
Born to Cliff and Gladys Reyelts on December 20, 1944, Ard grew up on a farm just west of Britton, South Dakota. When she was a young girl, her dad purchased a cabin on the shore of Clear Lake, a place 30 minutes from the farm that would become central to her family's happiest memories. Growing up, Ard spent summers at the cabin with her four sisters and her parents, swimming in the lake, singing by the bonfire, and sharing endless laughs that echoed across the water. Even as an adult, Ard returned every summer with her own family, passing on the same traditions and simple joy of being together.
Ard earned a bachelor's degree in English in 1966 from Augustana University in Sioux Falls, SD. After graduation, she applied by mail for a teaching job in Colorado Springs, a city and state she had never visited. She was hired that fall as an English teacher at Irving Junior High. The following year, the school welcomed a new physical education teacher and basketball coach, Ken Charles, who caught Ard's eye (and vice versa). They fell in love soon thereafter and were married in March 1968 over their spring break. This year, they would have celebrated their 58-year anniversary.
Ard and Ken had two children: Tami Charles and Jason Charles. Ard was the most caring, patient, and devoted mother who celebrated every milestone and took pride in all her children's efforts and achievements. When Ken began his 21-year career coaching basketball at Coronado High School and Doherty High School, Ard was always there cheering from the stands with Tami and Jason, supporting the players with fierce enthusiasm, homemade team dinners, and more. Years later, she did the same in the stands and on the sidelines of her children's athletic pursuits. For Ard, those games were about community, family, and watching her husband and kids do what they loved.
Ard spent the majority of her career at Holmes Junior High, where she was an admired eighth grade English teacher from 1968 to 1999. She and Ken retired together that year and embraced a new chapter filled with the things she loved most. Ard treasured returning to Clear Lake every summer, a place that always felt like home and held decades of memories. She was an avid reader and spent many years in a book club with friends. A gracious and generous host, Ard loved opening her home to family, family of family, friends, and friends of friends. No one was a stranger, and she had a natural way of making everyone feel welcome and included. Ard and Ken were part of a dinner club for more than 25 years with a close-knit group of teacher friends. In her 50s, Ard discovered a love of golf and spent many days soaking up the Colorado sunshine on the course at the Colorado Springs Country Club. There, she and Ken made more lifelong friends.
As the second-oldest of five daughters, Ard was a true "girl's girl," sharing a deep and enduring bond with her sisters. They made time for one another often, gathering at the Reyelts lake cabin and visiting each other's families (in Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Florida). Time with her sisters was filled with laughter, storytelling, and plenty of singing and dancing. Those sisterhood reunions were among Ard's most precious moments.
Nothing brought Ard greater joy than her two grandchildren, Campbell, 19, and Rhett, 18. She was a constant and loving presence in their lives, planning the most special 'Nanni and Poppa weekends' when they were little, cheering Rhett on in many sports—including the family tradition of basketball—and cherishing every concert, recital, and performance of Campbell's. Ard loved spending time with them and her son and daughter-in-law. She was immensely proud of everything her grandkids accomplished and the young adults they are becoming. They will carry their beloved Nanni's warmth, wisdom, and steady support with them always.
Ard is survived by her children, Jason (Michaele) and Tami; her grandchildren, Campbell and Rhett; her four sisters, Jan (Dave), Lynda (Kesley), Mary (Brian), and Susan(Paul); and several nieces and nephews.
Ard will be deeply missed by her family and friends, who will always remember her smile, her laugh, her knack for harmonizing with her sisters on cue, her calm, soothing voice, and her heart filled with genuine kindness.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at 2:00pm on Saturday, February 7th, 2026, at The Colorado Springs Country Club.
In lieu of flowers, the family invites memorial contributions to the The Parkinson's Foundation or the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.