Charles Marcus Durrett was born on December 29, 1949, in Coushatta Louisiana. His father was a cotton sharecropper there, and later a roughneck in the oil fields of Oklahoma. He was raised in the Buckner Baptist Children’s Home in Dallas Texas from the age of 7, where he explored forgotten electronic equipment in the storerooms of the campus radio station and print shop with his lifelong friend John.
Charles joined the US Air Force after high school. He manned a satellite ground station at Loring Air Force Base in Caribou Maine, and was twice decorated for preserving “the bird” while it was aloft and inaccessible. For a time he nearly lost himself to alcoholism, but he said he was saved by recognizing that “the Universe is a very interesting place”. He left the Air Force in 1979 to pursue a stellar career in software. He never tired of learning and experimenting. A perpetual inventor and student, he tinkered in physics, mechanics, electronics, software, robotics, artificial intelligence, psychonomy, politics, government, agriculture, philosophy, theology, and many other fields, and made connections between them that blew our minds.
Above all, Charles was humble, kind, and understanding. He passed down his deep curiosity and understanding to his two kids, Kat and Stewart, in such an intuitive and poetic way that it seemed to come alive. Without trying, he set a high bar for the teachers they would encounter in academia.
Charles Marcus Durrett passed away from us on March 6, 2024. Our dear companion, papa, grandpa, husband, brother, uncle, confidant, and friend is sorely missed by his family and friends. We keep his counsel in our hearts and nurture our better selves through it.
Charles is preceded in death by his mother Jo Ann Durrett, née Steele, and father John Durrett, both of Kilgore Texas
Charles is survived by his wife Susan Smythe and son Stewart Smythe of Stover Missouri, his daughter Katherine Carvell-Ray (Brian Ray) and her mother Elizabeth Durrett of Birmingham Michigan, granddaughter Lyndon Carvell also of Birmingham, brother Tommy Durrett of Fort Worth Texas, half-sister Sherrie Johnson of Longview Texas, and many loving nieces, nephews, and friends.
We’ll celebrate Charles’ life on Wednesday March 13, 2024, at Kutis Affton Chapel, 10151 Gravois Road, St. Louis, MO 63123. Visitation begins at 1 PM, followed by a service at 5 PM. In lieu of flowers, Charles would like you to give kindness to the people in your lives, and to always hold a pure heart.