WAMFT has a rich legacy of pioneers, champions, leaders, and advocates. Special individuals who not only promoted the practice and profession of marriage and family in Wisconsin, but who also managed to enrich the lives of the people whose paths they crossed. Chuck Barnard is one of those special individuals.

Charles P. Barnard, age 65 of Menomonie, died Thursday, April 15, 2010 at his home in Menomonie after a courageous battle with cancer. Chuck was born in Superior, WI, on July 23, 1944, to Charles and Madge Barnard. The second of four children, Chuck excelled at football, basketball, and baseball throughout his youth. After graduating from Superior Central High School in 1962, he married the love of his life, Marge, and continued playing basketball for the University of Minnesota-Duluth and UW-Superior. He finished his college basketball career by leading the Wisconsin State University Conference (WSUC) in scoring his Senior year. Chuck was inducted into the UW-Superior Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986. After receiving his BA and Masters degrees from UW-Superior, Chuck and Marge moved to Laramie, WY. In 1972 he completed his doctoral studies at the University of Wyoming. Thereafter, the family moved to Menomonie where Chuck accepted a faculty position at UW-Stout. At Stout he established one of the world’s first accredited master’s degree training programs in the new profession of Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT). Chuck was a pioneer of MFT training and he was extremely proud of the program’s success and cherished the friendships he had with his colleagues and former students. He retired from UW-Stout in 2003 with the esteemed rank of professor emeritus. Over the course of his career he taught many thousands of students, published over 40 scholarly articles and eight books, presented regionally, nationally and internationally, served on the editorial board of numerous professional journals, and served as a consultant or board member to numerous organizations and associations. He received a number of high honors, including being awarded the prestigious “Fellow Status” in the American Association for MFT and named “Outstanding Educator” by the Wisconsin Association for MFT. Chuck was also the past president of the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT). Most recently, Chuck worked for the Department of Defense in Germany, Spain, and Italy where he counseled returning veterans in their transition back to civilian life. Chuck’s greatest legacy will be his family. He succeeded in creating a family that laughed, loved, and had a spectacular time when they were together. Their strong relationships were forged during annual vacations and summer weekends at the cabin. In recent years, family trips to Mexico, Germany, France, Spain, Florida, the Caribbean, and Massachusetts provided opportunities for his grandchildren to appreciate the family he and Marge created. Chuck thoroughly enjoyed life, and a good chocolate malt. His legacy will never be forgotten by WAMFT or by the thousands of lives he touched over the years.