- Charles L. Squier (Chuck) shuffled off his mortal coil on January 6, 2023, at 91. He was in the loving company of family at the time of his passing.
Chuck was born on April 28, 1931, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He graduated from Harvard in 1953, followed by two years on active duty with the U.S. Army. After military service, he returned to Harvard for a Master of Arts in Teaching degree in 1957 and married Janice Stevenson that same year.
After receiving a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, Chuck joined the University of Colorado-Boulder English Department in 1963. He taught courses in Shakespeare and Renaissance literature. He was active in the life of the department, serving in various departmental administrative posts including that of Chair from 1989 to 1991.
Chuck co-edited an anthology of the English sonnet and wrote books on two authors of the English Renaissance, Sir John Suckling and John Fletcher. He also wrote short fiction and poetry, including a narrative poem, Under the White Wing: Events at Sand Creek.
As a visiting professor, he taught in England at the University of Liverpool, in the People’s Republic of China at the Tianjin Foreign Language Institute, and in France at the Paul Valery University of Montpellier.
Chuck was active for a time in the Nomad Players in Boulder, playing various roles and serving on the board of directors. He was also a member of the Shakespeare Oratorio Society.
He served stints as Treasurer and board member of the Boulder Bach Festival. He was also a member of St. John’s Episcopal Church, where he participated as a lay reader and served a term as a member of the vestry.
In 2015, Chuck and his wife Jan moved to Boise, Idaho, to be closer to their daughter, son, and son-in-law. Chuck made the move with apprehension, worried about the loss of long-time friends and academic colleagues. He sorely missed his explorations and arguments with that community, yet he made new friends in Boise in spite of being sure he wouldn’t.
Chuck was an attentive and careful reader; there was little he preferred to sitting in a comfortable chair reading a book. He was a talented and engaging actor on stage, in the classroom, and at the dinner table. He had a wicked wit and was an ethical and decent human being. He could draw upon and render more than passably well a wellspring of arcane songs to compliment any occasion – whether appropriate or not.
Chuck was a loyal friend and husband. His children knew they were dearly loved. He was fond of ducks. He is sorely missed.
At the time of Chuck’s passing, his wife Janice S. Squier, daughter Alison A. Squier, and son Charles L.S. Squier of Boise, Idaho, survived him.
READING THE OBITS
A brilliant winter day,
Snow still fresh and glistening,
The Flatirons shining white against the blue
Of a cloudless sky;
Coffee and the newspaper
Filled with the usual staleness of what is new:
Violence, greed, lust, earthquakes, fires, and folly.
Tiring of the latest lies and twaddle,
I turn with relief to the obituaries
Where, I find, all the newly dead were nice.
– Charles Squier
In place of flowers or contributions, if you wish to honor Chuck, the family invites you to think of him as you read a poem or a satisfying book, enjoy a live play or musical concert, or simply nod a gentle hello to a duck.