Typical Charlys

Aunt Charlys Schulenberg was born Charlys Stull on May 11, 1942, in Glendive, Montana to Edward Stull and Vivian née Heath Stull. She was born the third of seven children. Her siblings were Jackie LeRoy, Carol, Layne, Kellys, Douglas, and Kimberly. Over the years Charlys and her family lived in Montana and North Dakota. I don’t know much about her family really, but Aunt Charlys is so sweet that I wanted to know more about her background, so I did a little research. Of course, knowing her parents’ names and the names of her siblings doesn’t really tell me anything much about her, but it does tell me that the family did a little moving around. While the family moved several times, and some of the kids moved away permanently many returned to Montana, because…well, Montana was home. Charlys was one of the ones for whom Montana would always be home.

Charlys met the love of her life, Andrew “Butch” Schulenberg and they were married on June 26, 1966, when he was 25 years old, and she was 24 years old. And that was how she became my future aunt. She married my future husband, Bob Schulenberg’s uncle. Charlys and Butch were so very happy, and over the years they added three children to their happy marriage, Andi Kay, Tadd, and Heath. They loved Forsyth, the town of Uncle Butch’s birth, and that was and continues to be where they have made their home. They are both wonderful people who are much loved and respected in Forsyth.

Aunt Charlys has proven herself to be on tough lady. She doesn’t let anything beat her. Because she began suffering with neuropathy, she wasn’t supposed to be cooking…something that was very upsetting to Charlys, who loves to cook and is exceptional at it too. So, Uncle Butch had to start doing the cooking. One night, they were going to have spaghetti, but they needed French bread and other groceries, so he went down to store. When he came back 45 minutes later, Aunt Charlys was laying on the floor. She had decided to start the spaghetti, and as she was boiling the spaghetti, her feet went out from under her. She hit the pan of boiling water as she fell, and the pan fell on her, spilling the boiling water and hot spaghetti in her lap causing 3rd, 4th, and 5th degree burns from her knees to her chest. Uncle Butch called an ambulance, and they got her to the hospital, and then, she was flown to the University of Colorado Burn Center. While her burns must have kept her in excruciating pain, Aunt Charlys never lost her sense of humor. She joked with the nurses, even though she was the one in so much pain. She somehow managed to dig deep within herself and become a blessing to those who were supposed to be helping her. That was typical Charlys. Today is Aunt Charlys 84th birthday. Happy birthday Charlys!! Have a great day!! We love you!!