Charles Seelye Kellgren Scudder, 78, of Killingworth, Connecticut passed away on Thursday, June 19, 2025, due to complications from a bone marrow transplant. It had been the only hope to cure a recently diagnosed blood disorder. Beloved husband of Mary and an adoring father to his children, Whit, Jocelyn and Ansley, Charles loved life and fought valiantly to stay alive in what became an uphill battle. He died surrounded by family at Yale New Haven Hospital.

Charles was always full of life. An accomplished attorney who practiced international corporate law, he was also a natural athlete, a college ski racer and lifelong competitive tennis player. A talented performer, he loved playing the guitar and singing golden oldies at friends’ beach bonfire on July 4th and growing up, excelled at theater. In retirement, he famously performed Shakespeare to rave reviews at the Bohemian Grove in California. As a person, he was gracious, warm, unassuming and kind with many close friends that went back decades. A high school classmate remembered him fondly as, “a charming, fun-loving guy who made everyone around him feel included, accepted, and comfortable.”

Those who knew and loved Charles best recognized something quite special in him. He possessed the gift of a rare kind of grace, inner and outer.

Charles was born in London, England to Dr. Nina Kellgren, a medical doctor and Evarts Scudder, an American writer, on February 20, 1947. He was educated at the American School in London, which his father helped found, graduating in 1964. At the age of 17, he left England to come to America and attend Yale University. At Yale, he was a resident of Davenport College, a member of Spade & Grave, one of Yale’s oldest senior societies, and an art history major, earning a BA in 1968.

After graduating college, he served honorably as a captain in the United States Army, stationed in Vicenza, Italy. He was fluent in Italian.

Upon completion of his military service, he read law at Merton College, Oxford and came back to the States, completing an accelerated American law degree at the University of Connecticut. During his career as an attorney, he worked at Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts in New York City and Obermayer, Rebman, Maxwell & Hippel in Philadelphia, and held several in-house positions at different companies, including at the US office of the Dutch corporation Akzo Nobel, where he spent the last two decades of his career until his retirement in 2017.

After his retirement, Charles remained professionally active as President and General Counsel of The Scudder Association Foundation. He was a longtime director of The Andrew Morehouse Trust, which supports Spade & Grave. He was involved in the Merton College Charitable Corporation and the American School in London Alumni community. Charles was a member of the Madison Beach Club for 50 years.

Retirement was a time of peace and contentment for Charles. After a busy, well-traveled career, he and his wife settled into a 1730s house in Killingworth on a six-acre property known locally as Maple Hill. They adopted a rambunctious and cherished golden retriever puppy named Ariel. They planted a rose garden. Happily married and attentive and close to his children, he often said it was one of his happiest periods of his life.

He leaves behind a loving and doting family: his wife, Mary Olson Scudder, and his three children, John Whitney Scudder of Madison, CT, Ansley Harris Scudder of Bloomfield, CT, and Jocelyn Seelye Scudder of Park City, Utah.

Family and friends are invited to attend a memorial service at the First Congregational Church of Madison at 1:00pm on Thursday, July 10th, with a reception to follow at the Madison Beach Club.

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