Barbara Lawlor, Nederland. Chuck Edelstein wore many hats and he wore some of those hats in his stays at his Nederland home. When he was in town, away from his other home in Florida, he jumped into the community, volunteering at many different events and agencies.
Chuck passed on Tuesday July 18, 2017, after a six-month battle with cancer at the age of 78.
He was an award-winning photographer and many of his photographs were hung at the Art at the Center events. He was an avid supporter of the Nederland Community Library and he volunteered his services at the Wild Bear Mountain Ecology Center. He was on the annual Thanksgiving Dinner committee and he was always on top of late-breaking news, which he shared with his internet connections in Nederland.
Chuck loved a good editorial cartoon, a creative video, an outrageous speech, an inspirational quote and made sure that he spread these gems throughout the community.
He was intelligent, funny and entertaining and his voice in Nederland will be missed.
When Chuck wasn’t here in the Rocky Mountains, he was in his home state of Florida where he built a name for himself as a Miami Circuit Judge. He began his career in 1965 as an assistant state attorney in the office of late State Attorney Richard Gerstein, the Dade County prosecutor who uncovered the first direct links between the Watergate burglary and Richard M. Nixon, who wintered in Key Biscayne.
Fellow circuit judge Tom Petersen said, “Chuck was an inspiration to all of us. We were all better people for having known him. He was a man for all seasons, a talented guy who had a tremendous range of interests. A judge, an author, a consultant, a professor and a photographer.”
Those who knew him say he was an idealist who loved the law, who made himself be heard. He was appointed to the bench in 1979.
Chuck was an outdoorsy person who was awarded the Alaska Denali National Park grand prize of a wild wolf family. He was also a law professor and director of the trial advocacy program at the University of Miami.
In 2015, the Criminal Law Section of the Florida Bar honored him for his role in reducing the jail population.
Edelstein’s survivors include his wife Diane, his children Shari and Amy, four grandchildren and his brother Joel.
A memorial was held at the Newman alumni Center at the University of Miami on July 20.
Contributions can be sent to Save Our Sisters in Miami and the Nederland Community Library Foundation, PO Box 1226, Nederland, 80466.
