Hubert Charles “Chuck” Elias, 80, loving husband, father, teacher, caregiver, beekeeper, and friend, of Atchison, KS, died at the University of Kansas Medical Center Tuesday morning, August 16, 2023.
Mass of Christian Burial will be 11:00 am on Tuesday, August 22, 2023, at the St. Joseph Church, with Fr. Jeremy Heppler, O.S.B. as Celebrant. The body will be cremated following the services and burial of his cremated remains will be at a later date in the Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Atchison. The family will receive friends from 6 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 21st, 2023, at the Becker-Dyer-Stanton Funeral Home, Atchison, KS. Memorial contributions are suggested to the Cherith Brook Catholic Worker and may be sent in care of the funeral home. Condolences to the family and obituary information may be found online at www.beckerdyer.com.
Charles Elias was born May 14, 1943, in Atchison, KS, the son of Hubert and Agnes (Cavanaugh) Elias as the fifth of seven children. He graduated from Maur Hill Preparatory School in Atchison, KS in 1961, St. Benedict’s College with a degree in Economics in 1965 and the University of Kansas, Lawrence with a master’s in sociology in 1968. In a decades’ long career first at Lincoln High School in Kansas City, MO and more than 30 years at Leavenworth High School, Charles taught history, economics, sociology, and psychology. He is also remembered by Farmer’s Market visitors with his Elias Honey stand. He was a loving friend, a fierce advocate for social justice and an advocate for the dignity for the sick and dying.
Charles was married to Virginia “Ginny” Elias from June 15, 1968, until her death October 30, 2006. Survivors include two daughters, Angela Elias, of Denver, CO; and Dina and her husband Cameron Hildebran and their two sons Allen and Leo, of Arvada, Colo. Two sons, John Elias, of Atchison, Kan; and James and his wife Mariah Elias and their three sons Zolan, Huxley and Oslo. Four sisters Mary Kay Elias, Kansas City; Therese Elias, OSB, Atchison; Anne McNulty, Durham, NC; and Dorothy Lickteig, Corpus Christi, TX.
He is preceded in death by Ginny and a daughter, Pamela, his parents; and two brothers, William Elias; and John Elias.
