Charles Edwin Greer was born in Fort Collins, Colorado, on April 9, 1942, at Poudre Valley Hospital. He was raised in Fort Collins and attended Dunn Grade School, Lincoln Jr. High and Fort Collins High School, graduating in June 1960.
Charles attended Dartmouth College, graduating in June 1964 with a BA in Geology.
He married Susan Wilmarth in August 1964. They lived in Hong Kong from 1964-1966. During that time, Charles taught at Chung Chi College, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, as a Fellow for Dartmouth Project Asia.
In 1966, they moved to Seattle, Washington, where he completed both an MA and PhD in Geography with a focus on China. During the summers, he attended NDFL institutes at the University of Michigan and Columbia University. They also did research in Taipei Taiwan for a year.
In his 35-year teaching career, he was on the faculty of the University of Texas, Austin, which included a year on a Faculty Exchange Program at Oxford, England. He was a faculty member at Indiana University, Bloomington, for the following 28 years. He retired from IU in 2006.
After retirement, Charles and Susan moved back to the Fort Collins area. Between 2010-2020, they rode their horses in the mountains of Northern Colorado until August when the Cameron Pass Fire brought an end to their riding in that area. Sadly, Charles' rides were stopped completely by a sudden illness this summer, or they would still be up riding in the "high country" today. He passed away at Poudre Valley Hospital on August 10, 2022.
Charles' family is sure that he continues to ride along heavenly mountain tops.
Charles is survived by his wife Susan Wilmarth Greer and daughter Genevieve Greer Steensma (spouse: Dirk, children: Ella, Charlie and Josette), brother Clyde (spouse: Carol) and sister Marilyn Brown (deceased spouse: Steve) and various nieces and nephews. He was proceeded in death by their son Jason Greer (and spouse: Lucy) in 1999.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests consideration of a donation to:
The Jason Sheppard Greer and Lucy Greer Foundation for the Arts
5526 Weeping Way
Fort Collins, CO 80528
Tax ID 20131640819
Donation methods can be made by check to the above address or through your bank with Zelle. The Foundation's email address for Zelle is
ggsteensma@msn.com
(receipt provided upon request).