Charlotte Templeton

Charlotte Mary Templeton, 86, formerly of Greenleaf and Washington, KS, died Monday, December 8, 2008 at Socorro, New Mexico. Her funeral service was held Monday, December 15, 2008 at the Trinity Lutheran Church, Greenleaf. Pastors Jeremy Vore and John Frey officiated. Organist was Winifred Elmborg who played congregational hymns, How Great Thou Art" and Just a Closer Walk With Thee". Burial was in the Maplewood Cemetery near Barnes. Charlotte was born September 4, 1922 in Greenleaf, Kansas. She was the daughter of Dan and Zena (Peterson) Combow. Charlotte graduated from Greenleaf High School in 1939. After high school, she accepted a job in Manhattan, Kansas, with the Agricultural Adjustment Administration. From there, she transferred to the Civil Aeronautics Administration (now known as the Federal Aviation Administration) where she worked from 1943 to 1956 at many airports throughout the Midwest. On December 28, 1952, she married Bill Templeton from Marshalltown, Iowa. They had one daughter, Mary Elizabeth, born February 6, 1959. In 1969, Charlotte went to work for Sears Roebuck & Co. in St. Louis, Missouri in the advertising department and in 1971, transferred to the central accounting office of Sears in Fresno, California. She attended Fresno City College by night and earned an Associate of Arts degree in General Business. After retiring in 1987, Charlotte worked as a teacher’s aid in special education at Fresno High School and volunteered at her church manning the crisis line. She relocated to Washington, Kansas, in 1991, where she volunteered at the Washington Historical Museum. In 2003, she moved to Socorro, New Mexico to be closer to her daughter Mary. There she made a great many friends from church, the Red Hat Society and various seniors groups. Charlotte is survived by her daughter, Mary Templeton, Socorro, NM; brother, Lee Combow and wife Hildajean of Apple Valley, California; cousin, Irene Toburen of Waterville; and other relatives. Memorial contributions may be given to the Christian Church in Washington or to the Trinity Lutheran Church in Greenleaf. Contributions may be sent in care of Ward Funeral Home. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Charlotte Templeton, please visit our flower store.