Charles "Chuck" Lee Baldwin Jr.

Charles Lee Baldwin, Jr., a devoted husband and father, retired United States Army Major, combat aviator, educator, mentor, and community leader, died on July 2, 2026, at the age of 56.

Born on February 16, 1970 in Coy, Alabama, Charles lived a life defined by service, perseverance, intellectual curiosity, and an unwavering commitment to leadership. From his childhood in rural Alabama to military command including combat zones overseas, to the classrooms of the United States Military Academy at West Point, as well as public school classrooms in Dallas, Charles continually sought opportunities to lead, teach, protect, and make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.

Charles’s childhood experiences shaped both his strength and his understanding of the world. He remembered the rural roads of Wilcox County, the nights beneath the Alabama sky, and the drive to nearby Selma, where the high arch of the Edmund Pettus Bridge served first as a familiar gateway and later as a powerful symbol of history, sacrifice, and responsibility. In later years, Charles began writing about these experiences in a developing memoir titled What I Can See Now. Through his writing, he revisited childhood not simply to remember it, but to understand it. He sought to preserve the stories of the people and places that formed him and to examine how struggle, race, family, opportunity, and personal choice shaped the man he became.

Education and Lifelong Learning

Education was one of the central pillars of Charles’s life. He believed that learning was not confined to a classroom or a particular season of life. For him, education was a lifelong responsibility and a means of expanding both personal opportunity and service to others.

Charles earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Art Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in December 1997. In May 2006, he earned a Master of Arts in Organizational Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University in New York, NY. He later earned a Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Management from the University of Texas at Tyler in 2024. He also pursued professional credentials in project management, Agile leadership, process improvement, and organizational development, including certifications as a Project Management Professional, Professional Scrum Master, and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.

A Life of Military Service

Charles served his country for more than 22 years both as an enlisted soldier as well as a commissioned officer in the United States Army. As an AH-64 Apache helicopter pilot, Charles served in positions that demanded technical expertise, physical courage, strategic judgment, and responsibility for the lives of others. His assignments included tours in the U.S., Germany, Iraq, and Afghanistan, just to name a few, and he served in four combat deployments. His operational experience included service during the opening stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom with the 101st Airborne Division, a later deployment to Iraq during Operation New Dawn, and assignments in Kandahar and Kabul, Afghanistan.

Among the assignments of which he was especially proud was his service at the United States Military Academy at West Point,where as a Tactical Officer and instructor he was responsible for developing future Army officers.

His military decorations include three Bronze Star Medals, four Meritorious Service Medals, three Air Medals, and the Humanitarian Service Medal, among other honors and awards earned throughout his career.

An Educator and Mentor

In the later chapter of his professional life, Charles returned to one of the roles that had followed him throughout his career: teaching. He worked with students in Dallas-area public schools, serving at the elementary, middle, and high-school levels. His assignments included work at Franklin D. Roosevelt High School, Boude Storey Middle School, Eddie Bernice Johnson STEM Academy, and D.A. Hulcy STEAM Middle School.Charles brought the same seriousness to a public-school classroom that he had brought to military command and organizational leadership. He believed young people deserved both high expectations and meaningful support. He was especially concerned about students whose potential was too easily overlooked because of poverty, instability, learning gaps, or limited access to opportunity.

The Man Behind the Accomplishments

Charles lived a life filled with achievement, but a list of positions, degrees, awards, and titles cannot fully explain who he was. He was intelligent, reflective, determined, and complex. He valued meaningful conversation and was rarely satisfied with superficial explanations. He questioned institutions, leadership practices, family narratives, and even his own decisions. He could be direct and demanding, but his expectations grew from a deeply held belief that people and organizations were capable of becoming better. He loved flying, motorcycles, travel, University of Texas football, and the possibility of a new adventure. Even in periods of disappointment or exhaustion, he continued searching for meaning, purpose, and opportunities to contribute.

Family and Legacy

Charles was a beloved husband to Katina, and a loving father to Xavier, Maya, and Paige. His family was an essential part of his life, his identity, and the legacy he hoped to leave behind. He was preceded in death by his grandmother Betty Ann Dudley and is survived by a host of other family and friends. Hispassing leaves an immeasurable absence in the lives of those who loved him, yet his influence will remain present in the soldiers he led, the cadets and students he taught, the leaders he coached, the organizations he strengthened, the communities he served, and the family whose story he helped to shape. His was a life of courage, service, intellect, ambition, reflection, and enduring purpose.

The family will receive guests for a viewing at Laurel Land Funeral Home in Dallas, TX on Monday, July 27, 2026 from 4:00-8:00pm. A celebration of Charles’s life will be held at Laurel Land Funeral home on July 28, 2026 at 10:00am, followed by an interment with full military honors at DFW National Cemetery at 2:00pm.

The family requests your presence wearing burnt orange and/or white to represent Charles’ beloved Texas Longhorns. Hook ‘em

A Visitation Service will be held at Laurel Land Funeral Home, 6300 South R.L.Thornton Frwy, Dallas, TX 75232, on July 27, 2026, from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

A Funeral Service will be held at Laurel Land Funeral Home, 6300 South R.L.Thornton Frwy, Dallas, TX 75232, on July 28, 2026, from 10:00 am to 11:00 am.

A Graveside Service will be held at Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery, 2000 Mountain Creek Pkwy, Dallas, TX 75211, on July 28, 2026, from 2:00 pm to 2:30 pm.