Charles E. Franklin was born in Washington D.C. on April 1, 1947. He lived there with his parents, Bill and Alicelia Franklin, and his brother, Hayward during his childhood years. Charles attended high school at Westtown in West Chester, Pennsylvania. His undergraduate college years were spent at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. Charles went on to earn a Masters degree in social work from the University of Washington and a doctorate in sociology from the University of Colorado.
Charles and Cynthia Franklin were married in 1975 and lived with their two children, Nathan and Hannah, in Denver, Colorado, until 1988 when the family moved to Colorado Springs.
In addition to years of practice as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Charles has worked with families and couples as a certified divorce and child custody mediator. Since 1971, he has provided private and public outpatient community mental health services in various settings, and has taught family therapy, social welfare, social psychology, and social conflict analysis to undergraduate and graduate students. In addition to serving as an educator, he has also been a successful administrator, negotiator, program manager, and consultant. He published the book, “Create the Life you need!” which draws on his wide range of experiences to teach in strait forward language, basic skills to build self-esteem, and personal strengths as well as develop rewarding interpersonal and intergenerational relationships.
Service and social action were important to Charles in his religious practice as a Quaker. He was qualified as a bilingual Spanish/English therapist, and has served in Guatemala with the American Friends Service Committee. He has also done volunteer work with providing family mental health care after major disasters, community service during racial violence, poverty assistance, and educational and community development aid.
In recognition of his volunteer work, he has received awards from Colorado Amigos de las Americas, Colorado Medical Society, the American Red Cross, and the Municipalidad de Fraijanes in Giatemala.
For many years, Charles and his friends did a yearly climb of Pikes Peak. Nathan and Hannah also each climbed Pikes Peak with their father. He also enjoyed biking, hiking, gardening, camping, and other outdoor activities. Charles realized a number of years ago that he was experiencing the onset of word-finding difficulty that would develop into a rare form of dementia called Primary Progressive Aphasia. He retired from his practice and dedicated himself to try to exercise his mind and body every day to slow the progress of his illness. He began watercolor, pastel, and oil painting every day and created art with his preserved nonverbal skills.
Over the years, Charles has enjoyed pets, outdoor activities, and spending time with his friends and family. He also enjoyed traveling and took trips to Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Greece, Turkey, France, and many other domestic and international locations.
In recent years, Charles has received nursing care at Forest Ridge Senior Living in Woodland Park, Colorado. After a lengthy illness, he died August 31, 2019.
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