Celebrant Pam Meily Vetter


	Celebrating Life Everyone Has A Story...

Charlotte Marie Grove was born in Omaha, Nebraska, to Betty and Ralph Grove in 1952. She was raised with five siblings: Ralph, Sharon, Carol, Carey, and Bobbie. Her mother was a nurse, while her father poured concrete for a living. The family lived on a farm and also participated in sharecropping. When her Mom worked as a nurse during the night shift, Dad took care of the kids. Seeking year round work as a concrete truck driver, her father moved the family to Highland Park, California. Charlotte was a good student in school. She was very close to her sister, Sharon, as they attended high school together. Charlotte went on to graduate from Ben Franklin High School. After serious health challenges at the age of 19, Sharon helped and fought for her health, and Charlotte earned a second lease on life.

Professionally, Charlotte worked her way up the ladder in the Aerospace Industry from the assembly room to Materials Controller and Supervising Manager. She worked for Esterline-Mason for 34 years. Even when the President was fired, the company kept Charlotte. The company knew her worth because she stayed through multiple buyouts, which is something that is truly earned by a valued employee. When she was concerned about having a job, she sought a back up career, she earned her license to do taxes. For several years, she worked a part-time second job with H&R Block doing taxes. She also handled the taxes for family members for many years including this past year.

In December 1977, Charlotte married Jimmy and became Charlotte Gesualdi. With hopes of becoming a mother, Charlotte spent five years on a waiting list to adopt a baby. In 1982, she was so excited when she was shown a photo of a three-year-old baby girl named Jennifer. She had meetings and took Jennifer from her foster care on wonderful outings in Long Beach. Finally, the adoption was granted and she took Jennifer home. Jimmy's gun room was quickly transformed into a nursery and it became Jennifer's room. Charlotte was a wonderful mother who read books to Jennifer until she fell asleep. She was very supportive, loving and always told her daughter, "I love you." Jennifer attended a very structured Catholic school and her mother taught her responsibility and to be respectful. When Jennifer had reading comprehension problems, Charlotte bought a library of books and got her up to grade level. Charlotte and her husband grew apart and divorced, but she was always there for her daughter. Through example, she taught Jennifer how to be a strong woman as she paid off debt, accomplished so much on her own and worked really hard for everything she had in life. When Jennifer was challenging during her teen years, Charlotte was dedicated to her. She put her through programs with toughlove, encouraged her to think for herself, and supported her with unconditional love. They developed a solid relationship.

The 1998 birth of Jennifer's first child, Antonio, brought them closer together. Charlotte became "Grandma" four times with the births of Antonio, Aahliah, Rahsan, and Rahnia. Charlotte embraced her new title, loving her grandchildren and being very involved in their lives. She read books, watched movies and played games with them. She was able to take her two oldest grandchildren for the summer holidays and Easter holiday which included visits to Disneyland and Sea World. She also took wonderful vacations with Sharon and her family to Monterey, Northern California, and cruises to Alaska and Mexico. Charlotte had a wonderful relationship with her siblings, as she often talked by phone. Carol and Charlotte did things every Saturday with Jimmy and Nick's family for several years. Charlotte and her brother Butch did a lot together in getting her Townhouse fixed the way she wanted it. He was a great brother to help. There were wonderful holidays and Charlotte was a great cook making her favorites: Chicken & Dumplings, Banana Salad, Creamed Chicken, Beef Stroganoff, and Goulash. Many Thanksgivings were with Bobbie and her extended and wonderful family. They all love their Aunt Charlotte so much. For Christmas, Charlotte enjoyed decorating the tree and buying presents. In 2003, Charlotte and Sharon traveled back to Kansas for a family reunion. They didn't know or remember all of their extended family, but it was nice as they were reminded that family is family forever. Charlotte was close to all of her nieces and nephews as well. April was her God-daughter, while Rick was her God-son. Both loved and adored their Godmother so much. She will be so missed by them.

Although she smoked for 25 years, Charlotte quit smoking on New Year's Day 15 years ago. She cried for two days, it was so hard. She kept a pack of cigarettes in her trunk just in case she needed them, but she never opened the package and never smoked another cigarette. When she started gaining weight after giving up cigarettes, Charlotte became very healthy and dedicated to Jazzercise. In fact, she earned perfect attendance for Jazzercise class as she attended classes four times a week after work and on Saturdays. Jazzercise was a ritual and she made many friends through the classes. She attended annual Jamborees with the Jazzercise class in Las Vegas and Palm Springs. Thousands of Jazzercise classmates attended those events from all over the country. March of 2008, just before her diagnoses, Charlotte did the Halftime routine with a large group from Jazzercise at the Staples Center for a Lakers Game. She participated in 5K Breast Cancer Walks and raised money for Breast Cancer Research, earning at least eight medals. Charlotte was also a supporter of animal rescue, as she rescued two feral cats at work. She had them spayed and kept them at her home. Mama Cat and Baby Cat would always come inside for Charlotte.

She had many favorites in life. She loved to laugh and had a wonderful sense of humor. Charlotte's favorite color was baby blue and over the years, she bought most of her cars in blue. She ate at In-N-Out Burger every Friday night. Her favorite beverage was Sprite, until recently when she switched to Pepsi. She loved the television show "American Idol" and enjoyed listening to songs by the performers. She was okay with Kris Allen winning the most recent finale, glad Adam did not win, but she had her favorites throughout every contest. She also liked watching "Dancing With the Stars," but she wasn't fond of Cheryl Burke continually winning. She loved the stage show of "Mamma Mia!" Over the last three months, her sister, Bobbie, took her to the Pantages to see the performances of "Grease," "Phantom of the Opera," and "Mamma Mia!" For the last three years Bobbie and Charlotte did movies almost every weekend. This will be so missed.

Over the years, Charlotte was a wonderful daughter to her own mother. She spent every Saturday with her mother in Highland Park. When her mother passed away three years ago, it was very difficult because they were very close and she was always Mommmy's little girl. Throughout her life, Charlotte was neutral in disagreements because she could see two sides to everything. She was a lot like Switzerland because she didn't take a side. She was easy-going and if something made you happy, she did it to see you smile. When she was diagnosed with cancer a year ago in April, she kept it to herself. Only two weeks ago, she finally called work and said she would need a leave of absence. In the end, she wanted to be at home rather than in the hospital. Sharon moved in with Charlotte on May 1st and stayed with her until the end. Charlotte told her family members, "I love you," and she always used her manners saying, "Thank you," when anyone brought her a drink or something she needed. Her Jazzercise friends made visits to see Charlotte, even sharing coffee and snacks with her the weekend before. In her final days, Charlotte was bobbing her head to the music that she heard on CD or in TV commercials. She asked that the song "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan be played at her funeral because she felt it was her song. Charlotte's final words to her family were simple. She said, "I tried." She had envisioned being a cancer survivor and in fact, she survived far longer than was predicted for her type of cancer. The next day, the doctor planned to call Hospice, but the end came quickly. In her final moments, Charlotte heard the voices of her daughter, all of her sisters, and her God-daughter, April, as she was surrounded by love. Sharon kissed her at 3:30 am and said, "See you later." At 7am April and Bobbie kissed Charlotte and told her they loved her. When everyone was asleep – Charlotte slipped away with Bobbie and Jennifer sleeping within two feet of her. It was clear that Charlotte was comfortable and grateful to be home as she passed away peacefully in her sleep.

During her life, Charlotte was modest and she wouldn't want anyone to make a fuss over her, but she would want you to remember her and the good times. She will best be remembered as a woman who was content making other people happy in life. Her joy was seeing her friends and family smile. Charlotte was loving, caring, honest and active. Her family will miss everything about her now. They miss her voice, her hugs, her visits, and her comforting presence. They miss being able to call her and her grandchildren will miss hearing her tell them a story. Charlotte's support of women was overwhelming throughout her life, as she believed in the empowerment of women. She believed women could do anything and everything. In many ways, she is still reminding us of the important role women have in life. They are nurturing and they are comforting to each other. Charlotte was grateful for all of the women in her life and she was one incredible lady. "Amazing Grace" will be played on bagpipes at her service, because Charlotte and Sharon heard a concert by the Canadian Bagpipers in Palm Springs in January 2009. There was not a dry eye in listening to the bagpipes play and they loved hearing such a moving song. "Amazing Grace" was also a favorite song for Charlotte's mom. Following a beautiful farewell, Charlotte will be honored in a scattering at sea. Memorial donations are welcome to an education fund for Jennifer and her kids. Dear family friend Jill Campbell has helped to open the education fund and she is donating all of her commissions back into the fund for the kids. Checks for the education fund should be mailed to:

Jill Campbell
9116 Sunland Blvd, Ste 2
Sun Valley, CA 91352

Payable to: College America Fund
Memo: Gesualdi

Charlotte was preceded in death by her parents, Betty and Ralph. She is loved and remembered by her daughter Jennifer; grandchildren Antonio, Aahliah, Rahsan, and Rahnia; brother Ralph, sister-in-law Debbie and his children Christine and Anthony; sister Sharon, brother-in-law Don and her children Chris, Eric, Rick and Daniel; sister Carol, brother-in-law Tony and her children Sherre and Crystal; brother Carey (Butch) and his children Chad, Mitchell, Michelle, and Matthew; sister Bobbie, brother-in-law Lenny, and their children Lenny, Jerrad, Dwayne and April; many, many great nieces and nephews, including Ryan; Special friends Jill and Kenneth, Darlynn, Dana and Darren and families; co-workers Linda, Paula and Russ; Jazzercise classmates and many, many friends.

May Charlotte rest in peace.