OBITUARY INFORMATION FROM FIND-A-GRAVE WEBSITE:
Charlene Ann “Char” O'Connor
BIRTH 10 Dec 1938
DEATH 5 Nov 2018 (aged 79), Denver, City and County of Denver, Colorado, USA
BURIAL Our Lady Of Angels Cemetery, Armstrong, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, USA
MEMORIAL ID 214733437
Charlene Ann O'Connor
December 10, 1938 – November 5, 2018
Charlene A. O'Connor, 79, of Denver Colorado was called to meet up with her pets at the Rainbow Bridge on Monday, November 5, 2018. She was the daughter of Helen M. Zamora (nee Mihal) and John O'Connor.
Char is survived by her sister Carla R. Zamora (Tim Coleman), niece Jenifer V. Okamura (Jeff), many cousins including Michael Shea, Kevin Shea and Brigid Shea, her loving friends, and pets Calli, Leo and Griff. Char spent her formative years in Armstrong, Wisconsin enjoying rural adventures with her beloved cousins. Her family later relocated to Gary, Indiana.
As a young woman in Northwest Indiana, Char earned a Bachelors in Sociology from Indiana University, taking classes during the day while working nights at U.S. Steel in Production Planning. Char was an advocate for women's rights and a founding member of the Calumet Women's Alliance. Through this organization, she spent years educating under the umbrella of Calumet Women United Against Rape. Her efforts helped to produce a newsletter, self-defense classes, a 24-hour rape hotline, court watching program, growth and development workshops and one on one advocacy. This work resulted in building a collaborative relationship with the Hammond Police Department and setting in place the practice of investigating women's sexual assault.
Char was an avid reader and loved the arts. She spent years as a dance instructor at Arthur Murray Dance Studios, as well as, enjoyed painting, creating pottery, carpentry, and building a very expansive music collection. She also respected nature and loved spending time outdoors with her friends and family.
In 1976 she moved to Denver, Colorado where she dedicated 25+ years as Business Manager with Encore Drapery, built a strong network of friends and continued to do what she did best, help others.
Retirement years didn't slow her down, Char volunteered at Samaritan House Homeless Shelter in Denver and Community Table Food Bank in Arvada, Colorado. She loved the people she met at her Silver Sneakers and Yoga classes. And she provided a home to many adopted pets throughout the years.
A Celebration of her life will be held at Advantage Runyan Stevenson Chapel located at 6425 W. Alameda Ave in Lakewood, Co. on Monday, November 19. Visitation will take place from 4-5 p.m., Memorial Service from 5-6 p.m. and friends are invited to stay for Fellowship from 6-7 p.m. In lieu of flowers her family asks that donations be made in Char's name to Community Table at www.cotable.org, Samaritan House at www.samhousedenver.org or Sarnelli House orphanage at www.SarnelliHouse.org.
Source: "Charlene Ann O'Connor". Obituary. Advantage Funeral & Cremation Services. Archived by Legacy, 2020. Website by Dignity Memorial, 2020. Retrieved from http://m.legacy.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Charlene-O%27CONNOR&lc=2160&pid=190684400∣=8047702
This information and the pictures below were obtained from: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/214733437/charlene-ann-o'connor. The picture above was obtained from the 1956 HHS Memories yearbook, made available by the Lake County Public Library, at: https://archive.org/details/HOHS1956Images/.
