We've known Charlie since Sue and I first taught together, nearly 45 years ago.  We used to do things as couples, and then the kids came along and they became "friends-like-family," too.  We had great times dining together at Dardano's.  Charlie came to my rescue more than once when things broke down at home and Doug was out of town.  (Sue and I commiserated that things always tended to fall apart when our husbands were gone.)  He was a helper man, just like Doug.  One of my best memories of Charlie, though, is of the time at Don's graduation  party, when he and I somehow discovered that we both loved "The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam."  We recited quatrains back and forth, and it was such fun!  I wouldn't have thought of him as a poetry guy, but Charlie could be surprising.  It meant a lot to me when he came to my book launch a couple of years ago, and Doug and I were glad we got to spend some time with him during his months at home.  Our sympathy and love always to Sue, Jana, Don, Ryan, Gunnar, and all the family.

I was so sorry to hear of Charlie's passing.  I have nothing but good thoughts of him.  He hired me to help out the Algerian oil work in the mid90's.  He was always good to us that worked with him and was always a gentleman.  My prayers go out for you and your family.

Charlie and I first met in 1981 when I started to work at Energetics, Inc.  as Senior Vice President. Charlie was a great engineer, and was a huge help to the company-wide effort to take the company public in 1982-3. But more than his engineering work, Charlie's very dry sense of humor was a constant source of laughter as we worked thousands of collective hours valuing former investors' properties which they exchanged for stock In Energetics. Charlie made a lot of hard work tolerable and even fun as we brought the company public. Then a year later after borrowing far more money than anyone should have ever loaned us, we were in bankruptcy, and Charlie's sense of humor was even more valuable, and kept us all laughing when we could have cried. I will never forget his contributions and especially his sense of humor! He will be missed by all who knew him. 

Now it's time to say the fondest of farewells to our pal Charlie. No one could spin a tale like Charlie, and few had the nerve to adopt his signature politically incorrect style of humor. Although to the uninitiated his remarks were often oputrageous, they were never mean-spirited or intended to be hurtful. To say he was colorful would be the understatement of the century.

Charlie's endeavors took him to the farthest corners of  the globe, and he was always hungry for more.  He had pluck. His life was a rich tapestry of experiences and adventures, which he generously shared with all around him – even those of us unfortunate souls which did not have the good form to become  engineers!  The best advice for the unwary – strap in and hold on tight, 'cause you never knew where Charlie was about to take you.  But rest assured the journey would be memorable!

Charlie, you left us way too soon.  Until we meet again on the other side, you will genuinely be missed.


Charlie and I met and dated at Arapahoe High School.  My most vivid memory was Charlie's attempt to teach me how to drive the standard transmission in his Chevrolet.  He got a great laugh from my consternation! but I must have learned a bit and it would have been to his credit that when my dad presented me with my own first car, I surprised him by driving it--with a standard transmission--all the way to Colorado Springs without difficulty.  It may not fall in the category of "life skills," but I drove thousands of miles while in grad school, all the time using Charlie's driving lessons.   

OBITUARY

Charles "Charlie" Bloomquist

Olinger Funeral, Cremation & Cemetery - Crown Hill

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