San Antonio, TX – Mark (“Charlie”) Curtis Charlson died in San Antonio, Texas on Sunday, February 8, 2026.
He was born on July 1, 1953, to Curtis and Marilyn (Nesbitt) Charlson in Libertyville, Illinois while his father was stationed at the Great Lakes Naval Station. The family moved to Thief River Falls in 1959 where Mark graduated from Lincoln High with the Class of 1971. He then attended the University of Minnesota where he honed his backgammon skills as a Sigma Chi fraternity member and liked to tell people that he majored in Parlor Games.
After leaving college, Mark became part-owner and manager of the Country Kitchen restaurant in Arlington, Texas. He spent the rest of his adult life in Texas where he later worked in landscaping and insurance adjusting. For the last ten years, Mark played bridge with, cooked for and looked after his mom in San Antonio.
Mark loved golf and chased the dream of getting a hole-in-one his entire life. The two he got didn’t count, he said, because he sunk them as mulligan shots. He was a loyal friend and brother who loved to make people laugh, and a cherished uncle and great-uncle. Mark spent summers visiting family and friends in Minnesota fishing, boating and golfing. He was an avid reader and listened to classic rock music.
Mark leaves behind his mother, Marilyn; brothers, Steve and Eric; sisters, Kirki (Greg Omdahl), Kathy (Larry) Pederson and Elaine (Keenan) Frank; as well as 29 nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. He was preceded in death by his father, Curtis; older sister, Karen Charlson Schmitz; and brother-in-law Michael J. Schmitz.
A Celebration of Life gathering will be held on his birthday, Wednesday, July 1, 2026, at 1 p.m., at Kirki Charlson and Greg Omdahl’s Kabekona Lake cabin located at 29468 County 37, Laporte, MN.
We encourage friends to join us to share stories of remembered escapades with Charlie and repeat “Mark-isms:” favorite sayings he often used, most of which are not appropriate for printing in a family newspaper except “Yaaahhh Buddy.”
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