Charles W. McCulley, 78, slipped away peacefully on Saturday, October 14th, 2017.  He was born July 18th, 1939 in Pocatello, Idaho to his proud parents, William Sonny McCully and Juanita and Clinton Young Morris who preceded him in death, along with his devoted wife of 54 years, Petra Gonzalez de McCulley; mother-in-law, Juana Heredia Gonzalez; father-in-law Juan Bautista Murillo; uncle, Spencer McCully; brother-in-laws, Efrain, Juan, Hector, and Santander; sister-in-laws, Margarita, Cecelia, Mercedes, and Gabriela; his right-hand, Uncle Richard Ortega; guard dogs, his beloved German Shepards, Bullet and Nikki.  Charles was the founder of the Angelus Chapel Mortuaries in Pueblo and Colorado Springs.

Charles W. McCulley was literally born into the funeral business. From the time he was 8 years old, the curious native Idahoan traveled to Chicago in the summers to work with his uncle, who was the head embalmer at a funeral home. While a typical child might be apprehensive in such an environment, Charles embraced the experience, learning everything he could from his uncle.  He did his first embalming at age 14. He loved the work despite his mother's desire of wanting him to be a doctor.  He was an altar boy in his Catholic Parish in Pocatello, Idaho, and the priests there encouraged him to study for the seminary, but Charles had other plans. He wanted to be an undertaker.

Charles graduated from Pocatello High School in 1958, then elected to study Mortuary Science in San Francisco, California, where he graduated second in his class in 1959 . After graduation, he obtained employment with funeral homes in the Bay Area before venturing south to Los Angeles where he joined the staff of the prestigious Angelus Funeral Home. It was there that he garnered a wealth of experience, including assisting to prepare the body of legendary singer, Nat King Cole. He was amazed to see the wealth of celebrities in attendance for Mr. Cole's funeral.

Uncle Sam "came a calling" with a draft card. Charles joined the Army and further developed his skills as a mortician while also doing duty as a radio and television announcer.  While stationed in Panama, he announced the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on the Southern Command Network radio and television stations. He served 7 years, stationed at Fort Clayton in Panama Republica de Panama, ranked as E-6, staff sergeant.  It was also while stationed in Panama that Charles met Petra Gonzalez de Murillo, whom he would marry and start a family.

While stationed in Panama, a classmate from the San Francisco School of Mortuary Science, Puebloan T.G. McCarthy, contacted Charles to advise him about a funeral home that was available for sale in Pueblo, Colorado.  Alva Jones had operated the funeral home since 1921, and he and his wife Helen were planning on retiring. McCarthy felt that Charles would be the perfect man to serve the community.  Jones’ Mortuary served the Hispanic and African-American populations of Pueblo.  During that time, other funeral homes in Pueblo wouldn’t provide service to those two groups. Mr. Jones's funeral home had paved the way for the McCulleys.

Charles and his beloved wife Petra purchased the Jones Funeral Home in May of 1968. They later changed the name to Angelus Chapel. During the time they started their funeral home business in Pueblo, the Civil Rights Movement was well on its way and unrest was about to erupt following the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Democratic Presidential nominee, Robert F. Kennedy. While not blatant, discrimination and prejudice were things the McCulleys encountered as they established the funeral home. They continued with the tradition of serving minority families not served by other mortuaries and did so with dignity and pride. Petra’s first language was Spanish and she acted as a go-between for Charles and the Hispanic families. Innovation was nothing new to Charles, and he wasn’t shy about making changes in the way funeral homes did business in Pueblo. One of the most notable achievements was the introduction of lavender-colored vehicles at the time when basic black or white vehicles was the Pueblo standard. In L.A, every funeral home had its own distinctive color. It turned out to be a wise business promotion and a good one at that; the eye-catching, soothing color proved to be both popular and conducive to the new business. It is nothing less than an understatement to call Charles a “visionary”.

Charles became heavily involved in several civic service organizations, such as the NAACP, where he served as president for two terms; the Pueblo Human Resources Commission (he was the first chairman); Mount Carmel Credit Union where he served as President of the board of directors, the Disabled American Veterans, and the Masonic and Elks Lodges. He was also recognized for recruiting minorities for the Colorado State Patrol and Rio Grande Railroad. In addition, the funeral home was the first minority-owned funeral home to secure a government contract to take care of the arrangements for military men and women of El Paso County. These were only a few of recognitions Charles received, he was a man of humility, nonetheless he was grateful and honored.

Like mentors before him, Charles continued to pass on his trade to his and Petra's children. Today, sons Frank and Joseph operate the Angelus Funeral Home in Colorado Springs.  His daughter, Yanera, and son, Lil Joseph, operate the funeral home in Pueblo. Daughters Velkis, Juanita and Tamisha willingly help out and actively assist where and when needed. Charles had begun to groom the next generation, starting with his granddaughter Zolanye. Angelus Chapel Mortuaries is truly a family- oriented business. The family also owns and operates the Historic Zaragoza Hall. Charles and Petra sought to purchase the hall after being approached by the last of the members of the Zaragoza Society, because of their passion for Bessemer and preserving its history. The Hall complements their funeral business and is made available to families to gather for repasts after funeral and memorial services, in addition to other family, civic and social gatherings.

The McCulley Family's knowledge and expertise helps them to give the families they serve exceptional service. They serve every family with great pride and are able to offer them a wide range of services to meet their needs. The quality of their service is what has allowed them to build strong relationships in the community, region, state and nation.

When Charles and Petra moved to Pueblo, he promised her they would stay two to five years and then sell the funeral home and move to California. But once they met the people of Pueblo, drank the water and ate the Green Chile, they fell in love with Pueblo and made it the city that they would call home, raised their family and grew their personal and professional connections. In May of 2018, the family owned business will be celebrating 50 years in business. The funeral home has been a mainstay in Pueblo for 94 years.

Charles always downplayed any personal accomplishments; instead, he credited his business success to a few people who assisted him along the way: his mother, Juanita Morris; his devoted wife, Petra; the late H.B. Markham, a Pocatello businessman and family friend who helped finance his business venture; the late T.G. McCarthy for inviting him to come to Pueblo. Charles has stated on many occasions that "behind any successful man is a good woman." He always stated that his wife was his biggest supporter.

Having lost his mother and his wife and handling their arrangements, he was well aware of the pain and traumatic stress that the death of a loved one can bring. This had enabled him to better serve those who turn to him in their time of need. Charles strived to follow a simple pledge his late mother wrote for the business, which is: “To serve every family as if they were our own… to treat every woman as if she were our mother or sister, every man as if he were our father or brother.” She also cautioned him that when he could no longer put people first, then “It’s time to put out the lights and lock the door.” She would be proud to know that the lights still shine brightly and the phone is still personally answered at all hours at the Angelus Chapel Mortuaries.  

In 2004, Charles and Petra were chosen by the Colorado State Fair Fiesta Committee as the Honorary Grand Marshals for the Fiesta Day Parade. In 2006, he was a parade marshal for the Avondale Veterans Parade. In 2008, they were presented the "Small Business of the Year Award" from the Pueblo Latino Chamber of Commerce and, in 2013, they were recognized as the "Small Business of the Year" by the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce.  Charles was honored by the Denver Funeral Directors Morticians Association in 2015. And in 2016 Charles received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Foundation.

Charles loved his profession.  He would say that "it is a ministry. It’s not about the money, but about helping people when they need it most."  He never had any plans to retire from the family-owned business. For someone who’s seen a lot of death, he was typically upbeat and joyful when he was asked for his advice on living. “You learn to respect life. Enjoy each day. Rejoice and be glad!," he would say. Every day when he arose, he thanked God for the day and asked Him to let him be a good steward for those he was privileged to serve.

Charles was an avid reader, he subscribed to newspapers and trade journals all over the United States. He gifted his family with his favorites, after all one of the greatest gifts we can receive is knowledge.  We often smiled, that he never went anywhere but knew what was going on everywhere. He took pride in his yard and garden, and thanks to Gilbert Bachicha, Wayne Gutierrez, and Joan Pachak it was beautiful. He loved his Japanese Koi, thank you to Paul and Willie Rivera for keeping his beautiful fountain flowing. Then there were his white doves, that he used as a closing gesture for his families. Thank you to the Saban brothers, Ben Velarde, Wayne Benskin, for assisting him with his loved doves. There was no love like the love of his family.  

Charles leaves his legacy to his children: Franklin O. McCulley, Joseph DaCosta McCulley, Velkis (Greg) McCulley-Matthews, Juanita “ChiChi” (Jerry) McCulley-Santos, Yanera Y. (Donnie) McCulley-Sedillo, Tamisha McCulley and Lil Joseph F. McCulley; daughter in law: Yvetta DaCosta; his grandchildren: Tinisha, Giovanni, Charles, Lelani, Zolanye Tiffany Rose, Ty, Ashley, Yael, Charles Lee, Niko, Jachob, Jesse and Shawn; his godchildren: Raylynn and Tyson; his aunt Nina McCully of Pocatello , Idaho; sister-in-law, Lydia Gomez-Gibbs; nieces and nephews: Gasper “Matoni”, Alfredo (Noris), Yadis, Amada, Etilvia (Ricardo), Irasema (Esteban), Carlito, Luis, Rafa, Mario, Enrique, Cecilio, Negro, Mariana, Hector  II, Yuri, Yira and Yeri, all of Panama; cousins  Jimmy McCully, Olympic, WA; Paul McCully, Pocatello ID; Theresa McCully, Las Vegas, NV; Cynthia Bradshaw, Columbus, MO; compadres, Don and Consuelo Sedillo, and finally to his  entire staff-family of Pueblo and Colorado Springs Angelus Chapel Funeral Homes, for you honesty, dedication, hard work and Love.

A special thanks to Father Uju, Father Gregory and Father Vigil, Dr. Banjoko, Dr. Onyekachi, Dr. Sumptner, Dr. Likes, Dr. Fernandez and Linda, Moses Roque and Carl and Paula Borden. Thank you to Jose Barela for the one of a kind canes that you made for him, they were always quite the conversation starter. Thank you to his personal chefs, that always spoiled him; Paul Bower, Charles Poole, Tonya Bui, Dolores and Auggie Marquez, Jess Estrada, Sheral Stanley, The Pugh Family, The MaryJo Pagano Stewart Family, Cuca and Angela Ramirez, Rita Baca Family, Steve Madsen, Doreen Morales, Jackie Topping Family, Calvin Propst, Lupe Carrillo, Lilly Martinez, Ruby and Ralphie Gonzales, Manuel and Charlotte Torres, Jane’s Black Swan and Mary Granillo Family. Special gratitude to the Ortega Family who were the first to embrace the McCulleys and welcome them into the fold as “family”. Life-long friends: Richard Garvin, James Michael Croshal, Charles “Jonsie” Jones, Fannie Lee, Ruth Steele, Marianne Lemons, Tim and Patricia Eriksen, Toni Trout- Mikel, Ernie and Paula Montano, John Wark, Liana and Sandy Gutierrez, Fred Jimenez, Rick Hill, Keith and Tootsie Wilhite, Roy and Rudell Smith Family, Charles Tademy Family, Bettina Fonza, Detric Mays, Ruby and Vivian Farr, Terry Davis, Medina-Serna Family, Lois Conatore-Houpe, Hilda Gallegos Family, Fred DiNero Family, Mike and Stephanie Gallegos, and the Gyorkos Family. Thank you to all who visited, sent cards, flowers, prayers, support and encouragement. Memorial contributions can be made to the funeral home for the Charles W. McCulley Scholarship.

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