Born to Cliff and Gladys Reyelts on December 20, 1944, Ard grew up on a farm just west of Britton, South Dakota, in the heart of the Glacial Lakes Region. When she was a young girl, her dad purchased a cabin on the shore of Clear Lake, a place 30 minutes from the farm that would become central to her family’s happiest memories. Growing up, Ard spent summers at the cabin with her four sisters and her parents, swimming in the lake, singing by the bonfire, and sharing endless laughs that echoed across the water. Even as an adult, Ard returned every summer with her own family, passing on the same traditions and simple joy of being together.

Ard earned a bachelor’s degree in English in 1966 from Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. After graduation, she applied by mail for a teaching job in Colorado Springs, Colorado, a city and state she had never visited. She was hired that fall as an English teacher at Irving Junior High School. The following year, the school welcomed a new physical education teacher and basketball coach, Ken Charles, who caught Ard’s eye (and vice versa). They fell in love soon thereafter and were married in March 1968 over their spring break. This year, they would have celebrated their 58-year anniversary.

Ard spent the majority of her career at Holmes Junior High, where she was an admired eighth grade English teacher from 1968 to 1999. She and Ken retired together that year and embraced a new chapter filled with the things she loved most. Ard treasured returning to Clear Lake every summer, a place that always felt like home and held decades of memories. She was an avid reader and spent many years in a book club with friends. A gracious and generous host, Ard loved opening her home to family, family of family, friends, and friends of friends. No one was a stranger, and she had a natural way of making everyone feel welcome and included.

As the second-oldest of five daughters, Ard was a true “girl’s girl,” sharing a deep and enduring bond with her sisters Jan, Lynda, Mary, and Susan. They made time for one another often, gathering at the Reyelts lake cabin and visiting each other’s families (in Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Florida). Time with her sisters was filled with laughter, storytelling, and plenty of singing and dancing. Those sisterhood reunions were among Ard’s most precious moments. Ard is survived by her children, Jason (Michaele) and Tami; her grandchildren, Campbell and Rhett; her four sisters, Jan (Dave), Lynda (Kesley), Mary (Brian), and Susan (Paul); and several nieces and nephews.

Ard will be deeply missed by her family and friends, who will always remember her smile, her laugh, her knack for harmonizing with her sisters on cue, her calm, soothing voice, and her heart filled with genuine kindness.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at 2:00 pm on Saturday, February 7th, 2026, at The Colorado Springs Country Club.

In lieu of flowers, the family invites memorial contributions to the Parkinson’s Foundation or the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.