Charlotte Ware

Charlotte Ware died on August 3, 2013, one day after her 82nd birthday. Ms. Ware was born to Charles Edward and Helen (Whelan) on August 2, 1931, in Philadelphia, PA. The Ware family moved to New Jersey in 1945. Charlotte worked in marketing and opinion research for 9 years while attending college at Rutgers. In 1961, she moved to Colorado and worked in banking. Later she worked as the Commencement Clerk at the University of Colorado at Boulder where she was a part-time student. She graduated in 1972 with a degree in Education. She taught in at least 53 of the 90 Denver Public Schools as a well-respected substitute and full-time teacher. In 1989, she completed her Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Northern Colorado. In 1983, she moved to Durango. She taught first grade at St. Columba Catholic School from 1988-93. After that time, she continued to substitute teach, tutor children and mentor teachers. Her passion was to teach children to read and write. She "loved to see their eyes light up when they would break the code." Charlotte was a dedicated member of the St. Columba Parish, the Altar and Rosary Society, and the Catholic Daughters of the Americas, Court St. Anthony 1248. With her help and that of Helen Ashley (Kemmerly), the Sacred Heart/St. Columba Jail Ministry was started in 1995, bringing Catholic Services to those in our LaPlata County Jail. She was an advocate for the incarcerated and the addicted. Her motto has always been "Never Give Up." Charlotte was very involved in many Durango community committees and support groups, advocating for the incarcerated, underprivileged, and the addicted. She is listed in "Who's Who of America, Educators and American Women." Ms. Ware was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her son, Jonathan, of Las Vegas, Nevada; her two grandchildren, April Ware of Salt Lake City, and Maximilian Ware of Durango; great-granddaughter, Mikhaela Moen of Salt Lake City, and great-grandsons, Dylan Hilliker of Bayfield and Jacob Ware of Red Cloud, Nebraska. Charlotte's surviving siblings are sister, Joan and brother-in-law, Lawrence Berube of Westminster, Colorado; brother, Merle Ware of Windsor, Colorado; brother Rodney and sister-in-law, Mary Ware of Browns Mills, New Jersey, and brother, Meredith, of Colorado Springs, Colorado.