EMMA CHARLAN (1927 - 2016)

A beautiful person has left us. Emma Mildred Jean Cooley Charlan, has gone to be with those she loved and cared so much about. Born December 4th, 1927 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, she was a fun loving, witty friend to many. Emma was a committed, loving wife to her husband, Langley Charles Charlan, who passed in 1982. They lived in their Franklin, North Carolina Mountain home and had many loving years together with their friends and community.

Emma was quite an Artist and loved to create ink and watercolor paintings of the mountains, flora and farmland relics of the area. She was a past President and long time member of the Franklin Art Association. After Lang's passing, Emma continued to live in Franklin until a little over a year ago, when she moved to Altamonte Springs to be close to her son, Butch and his wife Renée and their son, Matthew.

Emma was a caring and supportive mother to her two children, Dawn Marie Charlan Martin and Charles Langley "Butch" Charlan, Jr. She was blessed with five grandchildren — Matthew Charlan, Shawn, Brandon, Michael and Josh Martin and five great-grandchildren, Savannah, Shyanne, Danielle, Dalton and Sage Martin.

Her Father, Gary Walter Cooley, probably instilled in her the wit and dry humor that endeared her to those that knew her. He was a gifted salesman for an insurance company in the Midwest. Her mother was Vivia Mildred McLean Cooley. She was a very strict but loving mother who taught her daughter about commitment and the value of hard work. Emma attended South High School and then Eastern Michigan Teachers College. She loved to play the piano and she loved horses. She was the youngest of four children and the last surviving sibling. Gary Cooley, Robert Cooley and Dexter Cooley, were her older and protective brothers. The three brothers both protected their little sister and treated her like a tomboy. This she enjoyed.

It was while visiting a friend in Sarasota Florida in 1949 that this spunky gal met Lang Charlan. a power lineman from Miami, Florida who was in town repairing the power lines after a hurricane. They were married within a year and lived their early years in Miami where they loved to fish and go boating in the Florida Keys.

Those who knew Emma saw her loving, positive attitude — whether dealt a good hand or not. Her family and friends, even acquaintances, were blessed by her joyful, spunky spirit.

To celebrate Emma's life, a selection of her work will have a special Exhibition at Venue on the Lake - The Maitland Civic Center at a date to be determined.