CHARLES JARCHOW DELBECQ, 88, of Green Valley died in the quiet of the night on Oct. 13, 2009, at a trailhead in Madera Canyon, a place which he loved.

Charlie was born Aug. 19, 1921, in Toledo, Ohio to Charles and Ethel (Jarchow) Delbecq, He was the first of five siblings in a family of modest means. During his youth, the family was severely affected by the Great Depression, although they always managed to keep food on the table and a roof overhead.

During this time, the family had to meet another challenge when Charlie’s mother developed severe multiple sclerosis. As the oldest child Charlie assumed many additional responsibilities for the family. Living through these trials helped shape him into a frugal, sympathetic, and independent person. Although times were difficult, he carried many fond memories of his family and growing up in Toledo.

Charlie graduated from the University of Toledo with a degree in chemistry and then enlisted in the U.S. Air Force during WWII as a meteorologist, forecasting weather for USAF pilots.

Upon leaving the service at the end of the war, he entered a Ph.D. program in chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana and completed his degree in 1949. Along the way he met and married Gretchen Raube, a most fortunate development for both of them (and, of course, their children).

Following his studies in Urbana, Charlie and Gretchen moved to the Chicago area, where he was employed as a research chemist at Argonne National Laboratory for 35 years. They raised three children and he thoroughly enjoyed his job at Argonne.

He described our family life as out of Garrison Keilor’s idyllic Lake Woebegone. We had vacations at the lake and in the mountains, camping most of the time, and spent a year in Stuttgart, Germany and traveling throughout Europe. He enjoyed every day at work doing research in the areas of chemistry, which intrigued him. He published many academic papers, but he was most happy to be asking questions and then figuring out the answers through his experiments. Charlie retired in 1983.

Soon after retirement Charlie and Gretchen moved to Green Valley living for many years in Desert Hills VI and later at La Posada. He was very active in the Green Valley Hiking Club and enjoyed lapidary and silversmith work. Gretchen and he were members of a play reading group, which brought them great joy and long lasting friendships. They really enjoyed their retirement in southern Arizona.

Sadly, Gretchen, the love of his life, died in 2006 and things were never the same for him without her. He was a trooper until the end, always patient and kind and a source of well-reasoned and wise advice for his children and grandchildren. We will miss him greatly.

Charlie is survived by his beloved and devoted children Eric (Mary) Delbecq, Ron (Kathy) Delbecq and Liz Bauer and his seven dear grandchildren Katie and Amy Delbecq; Brian, Scott and Claire Delbecq; and Greg and Jeff Bauer.

Any contributions in his memory can be made to your favorite charitable, service or research organization.

A celebration of Charlie’s life will be held from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14, in the El Dorado room of the La Perla residence building at La Posada, Green Valley.