Duane Alfred Charlesworth

Duane Alfred Charlesworth of Litchfield Park, Arizona passed away on October 2, 2016 at the age of 85. He was the son of Alfred and Alma (Zieter) Charlesworth of Waterman and the youngest of his siblings, now all deceased, Olive Trumpour, Donald Charlesworth and Elaine McKirgan. Duane was baptized and confirmed at Immanuel Lutheran Church in rural Hinckley, Illinois. He attended Waterman High School, graduated in 1949, and thoroughly enjoyed playing basketball, baseball and being active in FFA. During this time, he was also getting to know his classmate and future wife, Dolores (Moudy). As a basketball player, his one claim to fame was playing against the original Harlem Globetrotters on the Waterman Town Team and guarding Marques Haynes. Duane and Dolores were married on July 5, 1952 at the Waterman United Methodist Church. He joined the U.S. Air Force in 1951 and served 4 years during the Korean War, 18 months of which were spent in Japan. Upon discharge, he attended Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois, earning his B.A. and M.A. in Education. He was grateful for the G.I. Bill which allowed him to gain his college education while living in converted army barracks on campus and working part time. He began his Business Education teaching career at Odell Community High School in Odell, Illinois in 1958 and then relocated to the Phoenix area in 1963 to continue teaching at Maryvale High School and Glendale Community College, retiring in 1991. In his 32 years in public education, many young lives were positively impacted but he would often say, “In the classroom, I am not your friend, I am your teacher.” There was no “fooling around” in his classroom. Duane was a husband to Dolores for 64 years, and a father to Greg (Deb), Michael, David (Didi), Julie (Gil) Garcia, and Karen (Ed) Reed, and grandpa to Clifton and Kyle Charlesworth, Nathan Bradfield (Shawn Kringen), John (Annie) Good, Josh (Brenna) Good, and Katelyn, John, and Alec Garcia, and great g-pa to Jacob, Leah, Astasia, Kaiden, Kaycie, Nevaeh, Trinity, Fiona and Daniel, and uncle to several nieces and nephews in Illinois. Duane enjoyed a good barbershop quartet and sang in one in high school. He also enjoyed coaching Little League, being an encourager at soccer and badminton games, building model airplanes, doing crossword puzzles, playing Solitaire on the computer, fixing things around the house, and watching sports on his new TV screen. For 53 years, he was known to be present at morning worship at his home church, St. Paul Lutheran Church in Phoenix, always wearing dress shoes and a nice shirt. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 pm on Sunday, October 9, at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 6301 W. Indian School Road, Phoenix. Memorials may be given to the American Diabetes Association Camp AZDA (youth camp for children with diabetes), 5333 N. 7th Street, Suite B-212, Phoenix, AZ 85014, or to St. Paul Lutheran Church, 6301 W. Indian School Road, Phoenix, AZ 85033.