Charline Wold, 53, Troubled but Loved Nature Lover

CHICAGO-Charline Wold, who for years could be counted on to immerse herself in the sunsets at South Dakota's Brant Lake despite a lifelong battle with alcohol and drug addiction, died on Jan. 1, 2010. She was 53.

The cause of death was liver failure caused by untreated Hepatitis C, according to Kim Wold, Ms. Wold's older brother.

Charline's name came about from the combination of the names of her parents, Charles and Adeline Wold. "Her middle name was Joy, because being the first girl out of four children brought great joy to my mom and dad," Kim said.

While growing up in Hinsdale, Ill., Wold and her brother were often teased and bullied by their peers because of their weight. "We both developed a pretty good sense of humor to deflect it," said Kim, but in her high school years the pressure to be thin and the constant taunting of those around her led Wold down the dark path of alcohol and substance abuse. "When I went into the Army, I lost all that weight. She didn't have that luck and got into drugs and guys and drinking," Kim said.

In her adult years, Wold had two unsuccessful marriages to, "good-looking guys" named John, one of whom was an aspiring golf pro from Florida. The Wold family supported both these marriages, but Charline's dependence on alcohol and drug abuse constantly sabotaged both relationships.

"She broke my mom's heart. After all she was her baby; she could do no wrong," Kim said. "But, obviously everything she did was wrong, but mom just couldn't see it." However, when Wold's mother fell ill with terminal cancer, Charline and her husband took the elder Wold in and cared for her in her final year.

After Adeline Wold died in 1995, the Wold clan broke apart; some stayed in Illinois, others left and ended up in far-flung locales like Elijay, Ga. Charline, long searching for a tranquil piece of nature far from home, moved to Sioux Falls, S.D. with John Potter, her second husband. The Illinois Wolds talked with Charline once a year, during the Fall. In 1998, Charline met and fell in love with Bruce Radel, of Sioux Falls. For the next 11 and a half years, Wold and Radel lived as a couple, never marrying. The pair worked together at Bruce's B&M Concrete, Inc., with Wold working as the office manager.

The Illinois Wolds did not have ample contact with their South Dakotan sister. Only at the funeral did they realize the life she led in The Mount Rushmore State. When she wasn't tending the office at B&M, Charline loved to be in nature. The couple had a cabin on Brant Lake, about an hour north of Sioux Falls on Interstate 29. While there, Charline would fish, boat and enjoy watching the sunsets. Once a year she would go northern Minnesota and immerse herself in the woods and watch the wildlife.

Despite this love of the great outdoors, Charline could not escape the drugs or alcohol. Rougly six months before her death, the Wolds got a call from Radel, telling them that Charline was very ill and asking them to help convince her to go to treatment. Sometimes, Kim would become so worried about his sister's welfare that he would call the police in Sioux Falls to check up on her. One time the police found her barely conscious and took her to the hospital.

On Dec. 28, 2009, Radel once again called the Wolds.

Charline was unresponsive.

Because Radel wasn't married to Charline and therefore unable to request treatment, Rob Wold was called and gave the hospital permission to treat his ailing sister. At 8:00 p.m. on Jan. 1, Ms. Wold passed away.

"To her it was a good life; to some others it wasn't," Kim said.

Charline Wold was born in Aurora, Ill. on May 8, 1956. She graduated from Hinsdale South High School in Hinsdale, Ill. She is survived by her long-time partner Bruce Radel of Sioux Falls, S.D., with whom she had no children. She is also survived by her brothers; Kim, of Darien, Ill., Chuck of Ellijay, Ga., and Rob, of Lombard, Ill. She was preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Adeline Wold. Services were held on Jan. 16, 2010 at the George Boom Funeral Home, in Sioux Falls, S.D.