Charles ("Chuck") Edward Anthony III, an award-winning architect from the Eastern Shore of Maryland, died at first light on Sunday, August 16, 2026. He was 70.

Born on January 12, 1956 to Charles E. Anthony Jr. and Helene Brannock Anthony, Chuck had deep Maryland roots. Nearly 10 generations of the Anthony family lived in Queen Anne's County, while the Brannock family has longstanding ties to neighboring Dorchester County.

Chuck is survived by his wife, Iris Krasnow; his four sons, Theo (Zia), Isaac (Courtney), Jack, and Zane; his granddaughter, Opal; his sister, Martha Anthony; his aunt, Carol Brannock; and his uncle, Samuel Brannock. He was the uncle of 11 nieces and nephews and the great-uncle of 14.

Chuck grew up in Centreville, Maryland and graduated in 1974 from Queen Anne's County High School, where he was a lettered, three-sport athlete. After high school, Chuck attended the University of Maryland, where both his parents attended, and earned a Bachelor's in architecture. As a young graduate, he worked as a carpenter in Santa Monica, California before entering professional architectural practice.

Chuck initially practiced architecture in Washington, D.C., with the firm Martin and Jones before establishing a practice of his own, at the age of 28. He later moved his firm to Annapolis, where Charles E. Anthony Architects became known for residential, institutional, and historic work distinguished by craftsmanship, proportion, and a marked sensitivity to place. Over the following decades, Chuck designed and restored houses across the Chesapeake region. He became particularly skilled at adapting historic buildings without erasing the qualities that make them distinctive. Many of his significant projects in Maryland and Washington, D.C. received significant regional and national recognition, including Maret School, Oldfields School, The Key School, St. Margaret's Church, and the Friary residence. Once asked to explain his design practice, Chuck replied: "How do you do what is right for this site?" The question captures much of his life's work.

At his family's 1940s farmhouse overlooking the Severn River in Annapolis, he practiced the same level of patient craftsmanship. He salvaged old heart pine on site and milled it into trim, designed a rift-sawn oak front door with master craftsman Chris Kellehner, and built a newel post containing a secret compartment for his children. His ethos permeated both professional and personal practice: preserve what deserves preserving, understand how things are made, use honest materials, and allow a building to accumulate the marks of the people who live there. Yet his practice never dipped into nostalgia-Chuck understood that to be connected with tradition required constant reinterpretation of their values in the present. It was in the way that he embodied this reinterpretation as an act of love that his creativity truly shined.

Alongside his beloved wife of four decades, author Iris Krasnow, Chuck raised four sons in their Annapolis home. Chuck was, above all, a steady father, husband, and calming presence in the lives of his family. He was gentle, wise, patient, and reliable, and a lifeline of sage advice. He gave his children the freedom to develop their own ideas, make their own choices, and find their own way. Though raised Methodist, after years of private research and preparation, he surprised his family by announcing his conversion to Judaism at the age of 50, in between cracking crabs on a beach vacation. Though unexpected, it quickly felt essential, as Chuck found in Judaism the same connection to tradition and the necessity of reinterpretation that had defined all other areas of his life.

Chuck wore bolo ties and patterns that few men would dare. He had a sweet tooth that he'd satisfy with mischievous smiles on his way to the cookie jar. He made chocolate milk for his sons, who thought he was the smartest man in the world when he knew all the answers on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? He chuckled ferociously, hugged gently, would sit and stare at the sea for hours. He coached sports teams, stayed up late with glue sticks and posterboards for science projects, and fell asleep in front of the TV watching his Capitals. He can be heard in the background of all the family home videos, proudly narrating his unwavering love. To all who met him, Chuck was a wise witness, exuding a confidence and intelligence that never drew attention to itself and was always in service of others. At times one would wonder if he was even listening, but at just the right moment, at just the right time, he would say just the right thing. How do you do what is right for this moment? Whatever it was, Chuck did it with humor and kindness, presence and grace. That legacy is etched into the hearts of his family and friends as permanently as it is into the buildings he designed. May his memory forever be a blessing.

A memorial service will be held at Temple Beth Shalom in Arnold, Maryland on Thursday, August 20 at at 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Key School in Annapolis or the Temple Beth Shalom Building Fund.