Charlie Kubly was 28 years old when he took his own life after a long and gallant battle against the disease of depression. He lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin close to family and friends. The youngest of seven children, he was a beloved uncle to 17 nieces and nephews.

Charlie attended the University School of Milwaukee for elementary and high school where he excelled in economics and finance classes. He continued his education at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota where he chose to be an entrepreneurial major. Charlie worked in the financial industry in Milwaukee where he was also developing a small mail order business to college students called "Care By Air"- care packages sent to college students from parents, relatives and friends.

Charlie was adventuresome, curious and always ready to try new things. In high school he spent two summers in Outward Bound programs- a sailing program in Maine and the other in Colorado. The summer before his senior year, he traveled to Iceland as an AFS student. After college he worked for a season at Copper Mountain, Colorado where he also became an accomplished skier. Charlie enjoyed tennis, sailing, water skiing and was working on his pilot's license.

Like everyone else in the family, Charlie loved music. He had a special affinity for the Blues and Johnny Lee Hooker, thus our "Beyond the Blues" music benefit is in his memory.

Charlie had a host of friends and was often the life of the party. His one-liners and humor kept family and friends in stitches, even during his last few years as his depression worsened. His embarrassment caused him to hide his disease even from his closest friends. He shared only glimpses of his pain and agony with his family.

It was after college that Charlie decided he needed professional advice. He tried numerous treatments and sought the advice of a variety of professionals for his depression, but did not find the relief he so desperately wanted. He described his depression as a terrible physical pain that would leave him incapacitated. He wrote that he would have had a happy life had it not been for this disease.

The Charles E. Kubly Foundation was formed to help others affected by depression so that they might achieve a better outcome. Depression can be deceiving; one may have all the trappings of a good life and yet be ill. It is important for people not to be ashamed of the disease. It is a disease like any other for which one should seek help. The Charles E. Kubly Foundation aims to raise awareness of the disease of depression, reduce the stigma associated with it and help people to access resources in their communities.