Cover photo for Charlotte Ann Richards's Obituary
Charlotte Ann Richards Profile Photo
1939 Charlotte 2009

Charlotte Ann Richards

June 21, 1939 — March 8, 2009

RICHARDS, CHARLOTTE ANN

Our beloved Charlotte is gone, succumbed to the ravages of cancer. Charlotte Ann Richards, 69, of Appleton, the youngest daughter of the late William and Jessica Meier of Baraboo, died Sunday in the arms of Tom, her husband of almost 50 years.

Everyone who ever met her felt an almost instant bond. To those many who loved her, the loss is unspeakable. Foremost, of course, is her husband, Tom. She was everything to him. He eschews the term “best friend” because that sounds as though they were bowling buddies, or some such low relationship. Theirs reached the highest plane. They
were soul mates, dearest friends, intellectual yin and yang, lovers and husband and wife in all that implies. Charlotte laughed at Tom's endless jokes. But only when they were funny.
They met in Baraboo, at Devil's Lake, when both were near the end of their teen years. She was, he says, the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He was a tourist, camping with a group of pals from Chicago; she was a town girl. They courted long-distance for a couple of years, and on May 16, 1959, were married in Madison.

No less will she be missed by their son, Thomas (Kim) Richards, and their son Jacob; and their daughter, Anna (Aaron) Dollhausen and her children, Jessica and Stephen Veeser, all of whom she loved with all her heart.
They will miss that love, particularly as it manifested itself in such things as her cookies, her caramels and her magnificent Thanksgiving feasts. None would have trouble voting her the best cookie-baker in the known universe. There were perhaps more mundane ways she showed her love, from the house she kept for her family, the clean clothes she saw that they always had, to the healthy, happy, delicious meals she put on the table. But it was her love that caused her to do these things to a standard that could not be matched.

Because of the kind of self-effacing person she was, Charlotte never would acknowledge that she was any good at any of this. She was far better than any good. She was uncomfortable with praise and never wanted to be the center of attention. To this end, she would not wear flashy clothes, and the only jewelry she ever wanted was her wedding rings and sometimes her favorite amber pendant. Oh, and a touch of Shalimar, Tom's favorite fragrance on her. It didn't matter. Her smile alone gave her glittering beauty and charm. Charlotte was proud of the secretarial skills she employed during her working years, and she may have been the last person on the planet who could write Gregg shorthand.

Others to whom she was beloved included her brother, Raymond Meier of Menomonee Falls; her sisters, Mildred Turner of Seattle; Bonnie (Wayne) Yanke of Baraboo; and Irene (Donald) of Portage; and her surrogate little sister, Suzanne (Gary) von Behren of Atlanta.

A funeral service for Charlotte will be held at 11:30 a.m. Friday, March 13, 2009 at Wichmann Funeral Home, with visitation from 9:00 a.m. until time the time of service.

It is a good thing you are not here, Charlotte. You wouldn't believe how many people love you and miss you. You would find it embarrassing.

Wichmann Funeral Home
537 N. Superior Street
Appleton WI 54911
920-739-1231

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Sunday, March 13, 2022

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Sunday, March 13, 2022

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