Charles "Chuck" Ward McCleary

Charles Ward “Chuck” McCleary
1935 – 2025

Charles Ward McCleary, affectionately known as Chuck (or “Chuckie,” if you were lucky), died at his home in Weathersfield, Vermont, on September 17, 2025, at the age of 90. He was a prolific artist, a passionate athlete, a devoted teacher, and a man whose life encompassed both great joys and deep complexities.

Born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in 1935, his family lived in nearby Windber, a large-scale mining town. His early years were marked by absence and later the war––a formidable experience that shaped his fierce sense of independence and free-spirited nature. His parents, Dorothy and Charles, later moved to Ohio, where he attended East High School. A standout football player and lifeguard at Monroe Falls Park, he graduated in 1953 before pursuing his calling in art.

In high school Chuck met Betty Jane, who would become his first wife and the mother of his three children, Brennan, Erin, and Meghan. Together they shared youthful adventures, touring Europe on his motorcycle through France and Spain with Betty on the back. They later married and built a family, raising three children. When Betty died tragically young, Chuck raised his children the best he knew how, eventually becoming proficient in the kitchen and often present at their many athletic endeavors.

Chuck seemed to be in perpetual motion. He built houses, raced motocross, trained for triathlons, ran with astonishing speed, and skied down mountains as though the slopes were chasing him. Even in the studio, he worked with breathtaking quickness, his hands pulling a recognizable figure from a blob of clay in moments. That hunger for speed—part thrill, part necessity—was stitched into the fabric of who he was.

Later in life, Chuck found love again with Christine (Chris), whom he had first met years earlier. Little did they know the adventures that lay ahead. Together they built a beautiful life in Vermont, where Chuck fulfilled a longtime dream of living in New England. Their home along the Connecticut River became a site of both joy and struggle, as Chuck waged a lifelong “man versus nature” battle with the river’s erosion—building walls that the current inevitably carried away. Chris remained faithfully by his side through all his later health challenges caring for him with devotion until his cantankerous final days.

Chuck’s artistic journey began with a BFA in painting and drawing from the Akron Art Institute of Design.. He later earned his MFA in painting and sculpture from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. He taught sculpture, drawing, and design at Wisconsin State University before returning to Pennsylvania to join the sculpture department at Edinboro University, where he taught until his retirement in 1996. His work was exhibited nationally and internationally. Skilled in a variety of sculpting techniques, Chuck was especially devoted to cast bronze, using the “lost wax” process.

His homes were never without drawings and sculptures in progress, dogs underfoot, and the hum of Irish music or poetry. Nearly every object carried a story — a student’s gift, a family heirloom, a handmade ceramic mug, a piece of wood worn smooth by years of use. His mother, Dorothy, had impeccable taste, and her eye for the material world lived on in him: the weight, feel, and texture of things mattered deeply. After his passing, the charge of his energy lingered in every handcrafted object, every plank of wood, making the house feel alive with his presence.

Chuck could spend hours each day in the studio, pressing clay into the likeness of a loved one or coaxing hidden forms out of a massive stone of Radio Black marble. The land surrounding his Vermont home became a sculpture garden that welcomed the works of artist friends and his own creations. His students remember him not only for his technical mastery, but for treating them as colleagues, maintaining those relationships across decades.

Athletics remained a constant passion throughout his life, powerlifting well into his 80s, even setting a world record in his age group. At the Quad Games, back in the ‘Boro days, he was a regular. Chuck’s larger-than-life energy became part of the event itself — earning him a kind of folklore status. To those who knew him, he was, in jest and in truth, “the man, the myth, the legend,” a title that fit his athletic feats just as well as his mischievous spirit and the lore that seemed to trail him everywhere he went.

Chuck was mischievous to the core, with a treasure trove of stories that often left listeners asking, “is that all true?” He loved to laugh, to party, and to keep people guessing. He was generous in ways large and small, supporting wildlife and environmental causes, welcoming friends into his home, and sharing his art and energy freely.

He was a man of contradictions — joyful, difficult, inspiring, mischievous, and deeply human — who lived and loved as best as he knew how.

His legacy lives on in the hearts of his wife Chris; his three children, Brennan (Carol), Erin (Nekisha), and Meghan (Jay); his grandchildren, Leah, Lucy, Charlie, and Owen; his stepson Chad (Tracey) and their children, Tom and Katie; and countless friends and family whose lives he touched.

To honor Chuck’s lifelong passion for animals and the environment, memorial contributions could be made to some of his favorites: ASPCA, Humane World for Animals, World Wildlife Fund, The Humane League, PETA, Natural Resources Defense Fund, Union of Concerned Scientists, or the Environmental Defense Fund.