Charles Martin McJilton

Charles (Charlie) Martin McJilton of Longmont, Colorado passed away August 1, 2025, at the age of 56 after battling esophageal cancer.
Charlie was born in Illinois on June 22nd, 1969. Marilyn had prayed for a little brother and got her wish. Two years later his parents moved him, along with his two sisters, Deborah and Marilyn, to a large home with many acres of land in Colorado where he grew up.
Charlie's family was active in 4H and raised sheep, cows, chickens and ducks. Ducks were Charlie's favorite. Charlie helped to take care of the animals and tended to the garden when he was not playing with friends or bothering his sisters.
Growing up, Charlie was active in sports but enjoyed soccer the most. However, he liked to bicycle places with his friends. He started playing cello in junior high and played it through his years in college. In high school, his father bought a home computer as a kit that he and Charlie assembled together and learned to program.
Charlie attended Colorado State University and received his bachelor degree in Computer Science. Along the way he met his future wife, Rebecca, as they were stand partners in the orchestra cello section.
After Rebecca finished her doctor of veterinary medicine degree, Charlie and Rebecca were married in October of 1996 and began to create a home for their family consisting entirely of dogs and cats, mostly rescues needing homes. Charlie continued his career in software engineering for almost 35 years before retiring at the age of 55.
Charlie is preceded in death by his father Charles, and his mother Elizabeth. He is survived by his wife, Rebecca, his two sisters, Deborah and Marilyn, and his aunt Diantha and her wife Joanne. There will be no service or celebration of life. Anyone who would wish to make a donation in his name, please consider the local food banks or humane societies.
Addendum:
Not many people write their own obituary but my husband Charles did. He wrote a wonderful fact sheet but I would like you to know how truly funny and wonderful he was. Always looking for a laugh, he enjoyed numerous stand up comedians (shout outs to Nate Bargetze, Jim Gaffigan, Tom Papa and Kathleen Madigan – if you like these comedians, you and Charles are kindred spirits), funny movies (is there anyone who doesn't like The Princess Bride, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation – yearly ritual – Galaxy Quest or Monty Python and The Holy Grail?), and funny TV shows ("Doh!" "Kiss my shiny metal ass." – if you know, you know).
Like the dog Dug in the movie Up – "squirrel!" – Charles moved from one hobby to the next as nearly everything seemed to catch his attention. Many hobbies ditched along the way as he found new ones, various items were packed away unless they couldn't be (did you know fish become immortal when you no longer want them?) However, there were hobbies he clung to and never gave up such as roasting his own coffee (starting with using our air popcorn popper before I bought him his own roaster to save the popper from ruin – plus it gave a better roast!), playing guitar (self taught thanks to Rocksmith video game and YouTube), and photography.
Thank goodness for the invention of YouTube. Not only did it provide him endless entertainment (GMM, Rockstar Voiceover), he loved learning all sorts of things. YouTube was his Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. So much to learn, so little time. The geekier, the better; sending me and my family links to physics, math and science videos (none of which his sister-in-law understood, all of which brought glee to his brother-in-law), which, honestly, I couldn't follow 90% of the time but still enjoyed. He would be so thrilled if anyone reading this got hooked on Vsauce, Mark Rober, Stand Up Math, or Veritasium.
He didn't think he made a difference in the world but to myself and our families, he was: our computer wizard, fixing all glitches and ailments (trying hard to convince his mother-in-law that computers don't need naps to work better), yard maintenance man, exercise equipment repair man (YouTube will also tell you everything on how to fix everything), dog walker, reluctant veterinary assistant to his wife when treating their animals as well as the injured bird or squirrel, cook, baker (having bake offs with his sister Debbie) and so much more.
His knowledge, humor, and occasional mix up of the english language (waking up one day stating to me he had an epitome. Do you mean epiphany?) will be sorely missed. So yes, he did make a difference to those around him. As Emperor Kuzco said, "Yay! I'm a llama again." And for those who know where this comes from, you now know who Charles McJilton was.