Charlotte L. Theobald

Charlotte L. Theobald (nee Ray) joyfully entered this world in Springfield, Illinois on January 1, 1929, the youngest child of James S and Mary Idalee Ray. She attended St. Aloysius Elementary School and graduated from Lanphier High School in 1946. She married Herbert W. Theobald on June 19, 1948. She worked at Illinois Bell first as a telephone operator, then as a supervisor. Over the course of her lifetime Charlotte developed many long-lasting friendships. She never met a person she couldn’t call a friend.



Charlotte and Herbert had four children, Mary Beth (James) Kempf of Manitowoc, WI, Catherine L. (John) Solheim of Ripon, WI, LuAnne T. (Steven) Berndt of Ripon, WI, and H. Scott (Azlen) Theobald of Philadelphia, PA. She also had two sons, Daniel Craig and Peter Ted who passed away as infants.



In 1955 Charlotte and Herbert moved their young family to Indiana and then to Wisconsin. When her four children were growing up, the family home was a favorite gathering place for her children and their friends. Charlotte made sure all felt welcome.



She taught her children many life skills: how to be kind, thoughtful and to share, how to roller skate, ride bicycles, embroider, how to be loyal, how to stand up for what you believe in and how to do good things for others.



Charlotte was an avid golfer, gardener and cook. She gave of herself as a religious education teacher, and worked with disabled youths. She also was known for her rummage sales and neighborhood parties.



After her husband passed away she moved to Green Lake, WI where she found other ways to share her talents. She worked with women and children who were victims of domestic violence. She worked with the Salvation Army also but the volunteerism closest to her heart was to solicit food for the Green Lake County Food Pantry.



She answered her final call from God, “Come enter into the place I have prepared for you” on November 3, 2014.



Charlotte was preceded in death by her beloved husband, her two sons, her parents, her brothers, J. Herman Ray and J. Irvin Ray, her sisters, Mary V. Whisker, Gladys Ray, Ruby C. Ray, Elsie M. Albright, Eloise M. Hill, and Lillian D. Kennedy, and several nieces and nephews.



She is survived by her four children, eight grandchildren, Michael J., Brian J. (Emily) and Jennifer M. Kempf, Meaghan K. (Jon) McGarry and Benjamin D. Solheim, Madeleine I., Claire Charlotte, and Wilson H. Theobald. She is also survived by four great grandchildren, Aidan John and Rose Katherine McGarry and Lauren Elizabeth and Logan O’Brien Kempf. She is survived by many special nieces and nephews, her friends and all the many people she worked tirelessly to help.



Her joy and the light she carried within her will be greatly missed. Her grandchildren remember her as being “Larger than Life”. And she most certainly was.



In lieu of flowers her family asks that donations be made in her name to the Green Lake County Food Pantry.



Her family wishes to thank the caring and considerate staff of Lakeshore Manor Memory Care Center and Heartland Hospice.



A visitation for Charlotte will be held from 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM on Thursday, November 6, 2014 at Uecker-Witt Funeral Home, 524 N. Park Ave. in Fond du Lac. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 AM on Friday November 7, 2014 at Holy Family Church, 271 4th St. Way in Fond du Lac. Burial will follow in Calvary Cemetery.