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Western Slope Obituaries 9-26-11

Frank William Charlesworth, 89, of Grand Junction, Colo., passed away August 5, 2011.

He was born June 21, 1922, east of Collbran, Colo., to William H. and Esker (Fleming) Charlesworth on the first ranch William and Esker owned, he was the sixth child of nine (Lloyd, Edith, Dorothy, Amy, Gussie, Frank, Bert, Carl and Delroy) who would be living on that ranch. His boyhood days were enjoyed on the ranch, and though it required walking to and from home, he attended grade school and high school in Collbran, graduating in 1941.

His first big “job” at age seven was milking the cows and assisting in all the additional jobs everyone on the ranch had to do. The family raised sheep and the summer allotment for sheep grazing was on The Muddy Basin, 65 miles east of Collbran. He spent his first summer on the allotment at age 14 with sheepherder, Ben. He often recalled how lonesome he was that first week on Muddy Basin and how his heart was breaking to be home. Drafted in 1942 by the U.S. Air Force, he spent six weeks in Wyoming learning to be a cook before being sent to Tennessee, and then to West Virginia. He was then shipped overseas and following 16 days at sea he landed in Scotland, where he was transported to Highwickam, England (via travel through London) where he served in the 8th Air Force as an aide to General Jimmy Doolittle. Returning to the Ranch in 1946, at age 26, he spent a summer on the sheep allotment before proposing the formation of a “father and sons” company to his dad. His father declined the idea and Frank found work with the Colorado Game and Fish Department. A game warden, he worked the Pagosa Springs and Durango areas of Colo., from 1946 until 1952. In 1953 he obtained his real estate license and also attended Auction College in Mason City, Iowa. Returning home to Western Colorado he and his dad purchased an auction barn in Montrose, Colo., from Jim Smith and named their new business The Montrose Sale Yard with Frank managing and conducting the auction sales every Saturday. The Wagon Wheel Inn, built by Frank in 1955 in Montrose, also had a dance hall and he managed the operations of the three businesses until 1962 when he sold them and relocated to Grand Junction, Colo., where he sold real estate and continued livestock auctioneering. He purchased the Freeway Auction in 1970, operating it until December 1978 when he retired from auctioneering and real estate. Frank married Glenda L. Castle, August 11, 1984 at King Mountain Ranch, in McCoy, Colo., and settled into a home on Karen Lee Drive where they were awarded the Yard of the Month by the Desert Vista Garden Club in 1991.



He is survived by Glenda; step-son, Howard W. Thorpe (Angie) of Frisco, Texas; three granddaughters, Blair, Taylor, and Avery; special brother-in-law, Bus Tatum; brothers, Bert and Del, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Services were held August 19, 2011 at the Veterans Cemetery on D Road with the Grand Valley Combined Honor Guard.



Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado or Grand Valley Combined Honor Guard.

Frank William Charlesworth, 89, of Grand Junction, Colo., passed away August 5, 2011.

He was born June 21, 1922, east of Collbran, Colo., to William H. and Esker (Fleming) Charlesworth on the first ranch William and Esker owned, he was the sixth child of nine (Lloyd, Edith, Dorothy, Amy, Gussie, Frank, Bert, Carl and Delroy) who would be living on that ranch. His boyhood days were enjoyed on the ranch, and though it required walking to and from home, he attended grade school and high school in Collbran, graduating in 1941.

His first big “job” at age seven was milking the cows and assisting in all the additional jobs everyone on the ranch had to do. The family raised sheep and the summer allotment for sheep grazing was on The Muddy Basin, 65 miles east of Collbran. He spent his first summer on the allotment at age 14 with sheepherder, Ben. He often recalled how lonesome he was that first week on Muddy Basin and how his heart was breaking to be home. Drafted in 1942 by the U.S. Air Force, he spent six weeks in Wyoming learning to be a cook before being sent to Tennessee, and then to West Virginia. He was then shipped overseas and following 16 days at sea he landed in Scotland, where he was transported to Highwickam, England (via travel through London) where he served in the 8th Air Force as an aide to General Jimmy Doolittle. Returning to the Ranch in 1946, at age 26, he spent a summer on the sheep allotment before proposing the formation of a “father and sons” company to his dad. His father declined the idea and Frank found work with the Colorado Game and Fish Department. A game warden, he worked the Pagosa Springs and Durango areas of Colo., from 1946 until 1952. In 1953 he obtained his real estate license and also attended Auction College in Mason City, Iowa. Returning home to Western Colorado he and his dad purchased an auction barn in Montrose, Colo., from Jim Smith and named their new business The Montrose Sale Yard with Frank managing and conducting the auction sales every Saturday. The Wagon Wheel Inn, built by Frank in 1955 in Montrose, also had a dance hall and he managed the operations of the three businesses until 1962 when he sold them and relocated to Grand Junction, Colo., where he sold real estate and continued livestock auctioneering. He purchased the Freeway Auction in 1970, operating it until December 1978 when he retired from auctioneering and real estate. Frank married Glenda L. Castle, August 11, 1984 at King Mountain Ranch, in McCoy, Colo., and settled into a home on Karen Lee Drive where they were awarded the Yard of the Month by the Desert Vista Garden Club in 1991.

He is survived by Glenda; step-son, Howard W. Thorpe (Angie) of Frisco, Texas; three granddaughters, Blair, Taylor, and Avery; special brother-in-law, Bus Tatum; brothers, Bert and Del, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Services were held August 19, 2011 at the Veterans Cemetery on D Road with the Grand Valley Combined Honor Guard.

Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado or Grand Valley Combined Honor Guard.

Frank William Charlesworth, 89, of Grand Junction, Colo., passed away August 5, 2011.

He was born June 21, 1922, east of Collbran, Colo., to William H. and Esker (Fleming) Charlesworth on the first ranch William and Esker owned, he was the sixth child of nine (Lloyd, Edith, Dorothy, Amy, Gussie, Frank, Bert, Carl and Delroy) who would be living on that ranch. His boyhood days were enjoyed on the ranch, and though it required walking to and from home, he attended grade school and high school in Collbran, graduating in 1941.

His first big “job” at age seven was milking the cows and assisting in all the additional jobs everyone on the ranch had to do. The family raised sheep and the summer allotment for sheep grazing was on The Muddy Basin, 65 miles east of Collbran. He spent his first summer on the allotment at age 14 with sheepherder, Ben. He often recalled how lonesome he was that first week on Muddy Basin and how his heart was breaking to be home. Drafted in 1942 by the U.S. Air Force, he spent six weeks in Wyoming learning to be a cook before being sent to Tennessee, and then to West Virginia. He was then shipped overseas and following 16 days at sea he landed in Scotland, where he was transported to Highwickam, England (via travel through London) where he served in the 8th Air Force as an aide to General Jimmy Doolittle. Returning to the Ranch in 1946, at age 26, he spent a summer on the sheep allotment before proposing the formation of a “father and sons” company to his dad. His father declined the idea and Frank found work with the Colorado Game and Fish Department. A game warden, he worked the Pagosa Springs and Durango areas of Colo., from 1946 until 1952. In 1953 he obtained his real estate license and also attended Auction College in Mason City, Iowa. Returning home to Western Colorado he and his dad purchased an auction barn in Montrose, Colo., from Jim Smith and named their new business The Montrose Sale Yard with Frank managing and conducting the auction sales every Saturday. The Wagon Wheel Inn, built by Frank in 1955 in Montrose, also had a dance hall and he managed the operations of the three businesses until 1962 when he sold them and relocated to Grand Junction, Colo., where he sold real estate and continued livestock auctioneering. He purchased the Freeway Auction in 1970, operating it until December 1978 when he retired from auctioneering and real estate. Frank married Glenda L. Castle, August 11, 1984 at King Mountain Ranch, in McCoy, Colo., and settled into a home on Karen Lee Drive where they were awarded the Yard of the Month by the Desert Vista Garden Club in 1991.

He is survived by Glenda; step-son, Howard W. Thorpe (Angie) of Frisco, Texas; three granddaughters, Blair, Taylor, and Avery; special brother-in-law, Bus Tatum; brothers, Bert and Del, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Services were held August 19, 2011 at the Veterans Cemetery on D Road with the Grand Valley Combined Honor Guard.

Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado or Grand Valley Combined Honor Guard.


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