Charles Darrow Kirkpatrick II II

Charles Darrow Kirkpatrick II

June 14, 1942 - June 17, 2025

Charles Kirkpatrick passed away peacefully on June 17, 2025, at The Edgewood Center in Portsmouth, NH, just three days after his 83rd birthday. He leaves behind his devoted wife of over 63 years, Ellen Bradlee Kirkpatrick, whom he married in January of 1962, after eloping during his Christmas break from Harvard College. Throughout their marriage, they were inseparable partners.

Charlie is survived by his daughter Abigail Kirkpatrick Snow, her husband Andrew M. Snow, and their daughters India S. VanDerslice, and Mila K. Snow; his son Charles Kirkpatrick III and wife Zoe Kirkpatrick and their daughter Octavia. He was predeceased by his son Bradlee H. Kirkpatrick, who passed away last year.

Charlie achieved international recognition as a pioneer in technical analysis and market forecasting. A graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy, Harvard College (BA), and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania (MBA), he authored the definitive textbook "Technical Analysis: The Complete Resource for Financial Market Technicians" with Dr. Julie Dahlquist. He won the prestigious Charles H. Dow Award twice (1993, 2001), received the Market Technicians Association Annual Award in 2008, and was honored with the MTAEF's Mike Epstein Award in 2012. He was featured on Wall Street Week and CNBC, quoted in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, and served as an Adjunct Professor of Finance at Brandeis University.

Yet those who knew him personally will remember him differently. He was a man who lived life entirely on his own terms - fiercely independent, intellectually uncompromising, and endlessly curious about the world around him.

Charlie was happiest on the water. Whether fishing the waters off Cape Cod where he spent childhood summers catching fish for local Chatham restaurants, cruising the Maine coast, or casting lines in the Florida Keys, he found his purest joy combining his technical skills with the ancient art of fishing. The water was his sanctuary, especially meaningful to someone who had endured combat in Vietnam's inland jungles as a decorated officer with the 1st Cavalry Division, and a survivor of the Battle of Ia Drang under Colonel Hap Moore.

A man of remarkable self-reliance, Charlie taught himself carpentry, surveying, engine repair, and complex computer programming. He built intricate model airplanes and boats with the same precision he brought to market analysis. His interests ranged widely - he was a lifelong student of military history and had strong opinions about everything from sculpture (he believed Camille Claudel was superior to Rodin) to complex financial theories.

But perhaps Charlie's most beloved legacy was the annual squirt gun fight held every June 14th on his birthday. These epic family battles revealed a delightfully unhinged side of an otherwise composed man. Each year brought secret preparations, bigger water guns, and hidden ammunition. For those precious moments, the serious analyst became wonderfully, unpredictably silly - running around with the kind of manic joy that was both exhilarating and slightly dangerous.

Charlie was a provocateur who thrived on intellectual debate, sometimes to the frustration of those who couldn't match his intensity. He possessed a brilliant mind that grasped complex concepts, but in his final years, Charlie faced the cruel irony of frontotemporal degeneration - a mind that had been his greatest asset slowly failing him. Through it all, Ellie remained by his side, visiting daily even when conversation was no longer possible, embodying the teamwork that had defined their marriage. Charlie spent his last two years at the Edgewood Center, a skilled nursing facility in Portsmouth, NH. The dedicated and caring staff on the South Wing, along with Beacon Hospice, made his stay the best it could be.

Charlie leaves behind a professional legacy as a Chartered Market Technician who literally wrote the textbook on technical analysis. But for those who loved him, he will be remembered as the man who could read tides and charts with equal skill, who built his life entirely his own way, and who showed us all that sometimes the most serious people can surprise you with the most joyful abandon.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests making a donation to a marine conservation organization or simply taking someone fishing - Charlie would have approved of both.

Services will be private. The family asks for privacy during this time.