Charlotte Heidel

It has pleased Almighty God in his mercy and compassionate love to call to himself the life of our wife, mother, grandmother and sister Charlotte Emma Strasen Heidel. She entered the kingdom of eternal life and peace on Tuesday, the third of December, in the year of our Lord 2013. She will be remembered in a celebration of faith on Wednesday, December 11, at 1:30PM, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Falun, WI. There will be visitation at the church from noon until the time of the funeral, and a reception with her family at Tesora's event center immediately after the worship. Charlotte was born April 27, 1939 to Martin and Leona (Bahr) Strasen. She married Carl Heidel on June 22, 1963. The marriage has been blessed with three children: Lisa (married to John), Eric (married to Nikky), and Kirsten (married to Richard). These children have further blessed the marriage with grandchildren Leah (married to Jason), Lane (engaged to Waseem), Peter, Matthew, Eric, Tensing and Figo. Nicknamed "Sister Charlotte of Perpetual Motion" by her sisters, Charlotte led a full life. In her professional career she was an educator. She taught at every grade level from first to twelfth grade until her retirement in 1999. For most of those years, she taught high school English at Gaylord High School in Gaylord, MI. During that time she served as head of the language arts department. In 1996 the school district honored her as the Outstanding Person in Education and recognized her as a master teacher. That same year, the state of Michigan recognized her as one of the top twenty teachers in the state. After retirement, she continued to teach, first teaching English at North Central Michigan College, and then serving as a mentor-teacher for the students in the teacher training program at Spring Arbor University. After moving to Wisconsin in 2005, she continued to teach as a substitute teacher in area schools. Charlotte was active in numerous volunteer programs. She was involved in the many activities at her church, Trinity in Falun, and shortly before her death established a Sunday School program. She was also active as a volunteer at the Larsen Family Public Library in Webster, and from that position she took the lead in developing an early literacy reading program. Charlotte was a fanatical knitter and an outstanding seamstress, and she became an active member of the Knitwits and Philosophical Society artisans group. She was always eager to care for anyone's needs, but she was especially happy when she could knit or sew something for someone. The kids and grandkids remember her as a phenomenal baker of cookies and cinnamon bread. One of Charlotte's friends said, "Everyone loved her." All will miss her.