Charlotte Joan Kaems, age 89 of Port Washington, formerly of Sheboygan
passed away Saturday July 6, 2019 at Harbor Campus.
Born February 7, 1930 in Sheboygan, the daughter of Arthur C. & Emma
(Reich) Kaems. She attended local schools and graduated from the
University of Wisconsin in 1952
Char’s photographic memory and high-level intelligence served her well.
Her college major was in Hispanic Studies, but her native ability with
language allowed her to work readily with all the Romance languages. Her
employers with international business considered her a valuable asset.
Char’s love for language was also seen in the steady flow of poetry she has
written over the decades. She was already recognized in her teens as a
fine poet. Her poetic ideas were expressed humorously or eloquently. Most
recently, her favorite form was the short haiku: she took delight in
discovering what she could say poetically in three lines.
But apart from her linguistic and poetic genius, what drew most people to
Char was her loving outreach. She had an instinctive and kindly awareness
of other people and knew how to include them in a conversation, how to
discover and appreciate their talents, how to make them comfortable. She
was sensitive to other people’s sadness, shyness, needs. She was also a
prolific writer of personal letters. Friendship, for Char, was not a short-term
experience; it meant a lifetime of sharing. She has had pen pals since her
youth, and they remained in regular contact for decades. As a result, Char
has a multitude of friends, in several countries. Only in recent months has
she been heard to say “I have to cut back; I can’t do all this anymore.” That
signaled a major downturn in Char’s energy.
Beginning in 1961, Char was a dedicated School Sister of Notre Dame for
12 years; of those, eight were spent as a teaching Sister on the Island of
Guam. Eventually she was placed in an administrative position, but her
love was always teaching children. Conversations with Char quickly turned
to Guam and “her kids.” Char left the SSND community in 1973, returning
to Sheboygan. For the next 20 years she continued her love of teaching
children in Sheboygan’s Middle Schools.
Char had grown up as a devout Missouri Synod Lutheran and shocked her
family when she embraced Catholicism. That change came about because
she saw the opportunity to become a member of a religious teaching order,
the School Sisters of Notre Dame, and that dedication drew her soul. In the
end, she found that even the Catholic understanding of God did not satisfy.
She needed certainty of being loved and found that need met when she
grew into a spiritual awareness that she was, indeed, entirely be-loved; she
returned that love completely, and referred to the divine person with the
name: Belovéd.
After retirement Char remained in Sheboygan. In 2005, she moved into St.
Nicholas Apartments for seniors on Huron Avenue. Immediately she
developed a new community of friends and lived there happily until one
year ago when her need for physical care increased. She moved to Harbor
Campus in Port Washington, where she developed new friendships with
residents and staff. One artistic staff member found a way to combine
Char’s poetry with her own photographic art and they made posters to
display in the facility. Char’s poetry was admired and it was read aloud at
some of the facility’s social events. Char was being encouraged to lead a
poetry writing class.
Char remained in relatively good health, with a positive outlook and good
energy up until the last day. She died peacefully in her sleep. When
someone came to wake her, she was found to have quietly moved on to
her greater reward.
Charlotte is survived by her nephews, Frederic (Mary), John (Nancy) &
Michael (Cindi Gartman); great niece, Margaret, Kelly; great nephew
Frederic (Carolyn); and special great-great niece, Violet.
She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Howard and Arthur;
sisters in law, Jeanne, Ruth & Dottie; and her great nephew Theodore.
In accordance with Charlotte's wishes, there will be no services.
The Olson Funeral Home & Cremation Service has been entrusted with
Charlotte's arrangements.
