Charlotte Nixon Lee DetheroJune 4, 1933 - December 13, 2019Charlotte Lee Dethero passed away on December 13, 2019, at John Muir Medical Center, Walnut Creek, California, at age 86. She was born in Fayette, Missouri, on June 4, 1933, the daughter of the late Charles H. Lee and Wilma W. Lee of Fayette.
She graduated from Fayette High School, attended Central Methodist University in Fayette, and graduated from the University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, with a B. A. Degree in Elementary Education in 1955. She was a member of Gamma Phi Beta Sorority and the Education Honor Society. She covered part of her expenses at the University by assisting blind students.
Although her focus in the study of elementary education was the teaching of orthopaedically handicapped, she felt strongly that such students should be incorporated into the regular classroom, and did not accept a position in that field.
Charlotte taught elementary school in Phoenix, Arizona, for three years, meeting her future husband, who was attending what is now the Thunderbird School of Global Management, during that period. Although she had planned to live in Phoenix permanently, those plans then became secondary. She subsequently taught in Prairie Village, Kansas, at Belinder School, for a year, while residing on the Plaza in Kansas City.
In 1959, she married J. H. (Ham) Dethero of Clearwater, Florida , a graduate of the University of Florida, who has served as an officer in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. She became the mother of Dinah Lee Dethero in 1961, and of Charles Drew Dethero in 1963. She resided with her husband during his career in international banking in Puerto Rico and Venezuela for eight years, her daughter being born in San Juan and her son in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.
During the year in San Juan, Charlotte served as a substitute teacher in St. John's Episcopal School in kindergarten through 12th grade. Most rewarding were the years teaching reading to 5-19 year olds at an orphanage outside of San Juan, payment for which was almost always a large armful of gardenias. As time allowed, she studied and practiced watercoloring, while becoming truly fluent in Spanish. With her husband and other parents, she established a bilingual school with initial grades K-2. She set up the curriculum and obtained teaching materials for the school.
In Venezuela, Charlotte served as vice president of the Association of University Women, and was responsible for providing scholarships at the University of Caracas.
In 1967, the family moved to California and, in 1969, established a home in Lafayette, California. She served as president of the local PTA during her children's elementary school years in Lafayette.
The family later resided in London, England, for three years, 1977-80, related to her husband's career, traveling extensively in Europe during that period. They returned to Lafayette in 1980, where they have since resided.
Charlotte had been active in several non-profit organizations in the Bay Area. These have included the Oakland Museum of California, where she served as a docent for 20 years. She served as a trustee of the World Affairs Council of Northern California, also chairing its East Bay Chapter, as well as a trustee of the former International Diplomacy Council, San Francisco. She also served as president of the Mills College Associate Council, Oakland.
She was an active member of the Town & Council organization, Berkeley, as well as in participation in groups focused on balance, Feldenkrais and Che Gong.
Her interests continued to include the Spanish language, cooking and, most importantly, her family, including her four grandchildren, ages 22-27, all of who continued to spend time with her, her husband and daughter, in Lafayette.
Charlotte was a caring, vivacious, outstanding person in every respect who will be remembered fondly by all who knew. A service will be planned for family and friends in her hometown of Fayette, Missouri.