Obituary of Katherine M. Charles

Katherine Mackey Charles 95, a longtime resident of Westfield, NJ passed away at home on Friday, October 16. 2020. Kathy was born and raised in Buffalo, NY. After high school she attended Oberlin College in Ohio where she received a Bachelor of Arts in History. She became a teacher in Akron, NY. It was there she met and married her husband, the late Horace Jack Charles. Kathy was a trail blazer, deftly weaving raising her family and working full time while continuing her education and receiving a Masters Degree in Counseling from the University of Buffalo. In January, 1962 they moved to Westfield with their family. Her insatiable appetite for knowledge led her to Kean University where she achieved thirty hours beyond her Masters Degree in Psychology. She was a counselor at Edison Intermediate School for 15 years. A fourth generation Unitarian, Kathy was an active member of the Unitarian Universalist Church for most of her life serving on various boards and committees. Kathy's passion for music came from her musical family. Her earliest memories were of watching her Dad playing the organ at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo. Kathy not only had a beautiful singing voice but as a youth learned to play piano, bass and violin. Throughout Kathy’s life music was always at the forefront. As a classical music devotee she learned and discovered a passion for playing the cello which led her to performing in trios, quartets, quintets as well as with the New Jersey Suburban Symphony and the Danbury Symphony Orchestra. Kathy and her husband loved the opera, and for almost 30 years held season tickets to the Metropolitan Opera. Among her many joys were the summer vacations spent camping. Loading the family of six into their station wagon along with all the essential gear, imagine doing that today! Camping took them throughout the United States, from the shores of Maine to the California coast, and up through Canada. As the wife of a US Air Force pilot she shared her husband’s love of aviation, which they passed on to their four children. As a family they shared their passion for aviation by attending countless air shows throughout the country. After leaving Danbury, CT Kathy relocated to Pompton Plains, NJ where she resided for over a decade before finally returning to Westfield. Kathy is predeceased by her beloved husband of 55 years, Horace Jack Charles. She is survived by her four children, Robert Charles and his wife, Kathleen, Williamsburg, VA; David Charles, Whippany, NJ; Deborah Charles Dreher and her husband, Richard, Westfield, NJ and Judith Charles Alexander and her husband, Andrew, Williamsburg, VA, as well as seven grandchildren and one great grandchild. A memorial service will be held at a later date at Beacon Unitarian Universalist Church in Summit, New Jersey. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in honor of Katherine Mackey Charles to Beacon Unitarian Universalist Church in Summit, NJ. Arrangements are under the care of Burroughs, Kohr & Dangler Funeral Home, Madison, NJ.