Celebrant Pam Meily Vetter


	Celebrating Life Everyone Has A Story...

In 1994, Charlotte Scott Langford started writing her memoirs. She also shared her life stories in the book, "Reflections From a Mother's Heart," which was a gift from her daughter. Much of the following was taken from her writings. Her family is forever grateful that she shared her life story in detail for many generations to come.

Charlotte Burnett Newman was born in a house by a railroad track in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1923, to Edna and Ferdinand Newman. Charlotte was raised with six siblings: Mildred, Richard, Freeman, Irene, Bill, and Jack. Her father worked in the Papermill for $25 a week, while her mother was a homemaker. The family was very poor, but everyone was poor during the Depression. There was no indoor plumbing and they read by kerosene lamp. Her father had a garden in the summer and her mother canned food, so they always had enough food to eat in the winter. When Charlotte was 12, she received a set of china play dishes that she kept in pristine condition for the rest of her life. The cost of the dishes was $1. The kids liked playing in the snow and sledding with neighborhood children. Charlotte went to Sunday School since the age of five and liked to be in the Christmas plays. At the age of 12, she also accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. In school, Charlotte liked singing and performing in plays. She took piano lessons, but when the keys on the piano broke she lost interest in practicing. The kids in the neighborhood played baseball or kick the can for fun. The family listened to radio shows such as Fibber McGee and Molly or Amos and Andy. When the Glee Club was having a Spring Festival one year, she bought a light green formal dress with a scalloped neck for $4 and she loved it. Charlotte learned to sew and made clothes for her dolls. Meanwhile, the clothes for the children were handmade by their mother, but Charlotte only had two dresses. After receiving a low grade in History in 11th grade, she never finished high school because she was ashamed. Graduating from high school was always something she would have liked to do. After earning money at a job, she went to a dance that cost 10 cents and met Raymond Earl Scott. His cousin had introduced them at Starks School of Dancing. She called him "Scotty" and the couple dated for a year and a half.

After World War II broke out, the couple decided to get married. Charlotte and Scotty were married on Christmas Eve in 1941 at her parents' home in front of the Christmas tree. She wore a short blue dress. In July 1942, Scotty volunteered to join the United States Navy. The couple kept in touch by writing letters through the mail. When Scotty's parents moved to Southern California, Charlotte decided to move there as well. She quickly earned a job in the shipyard as "Rosie the Riveter." She trained to be a welderett. After becoming a telephone operator, she transferred her job back to Terre Haute, Indiana, working as a Long Distance Operator. She stayed there until Scotty was discharged and their first child, Mikki, was born. The family moved to Southern California where Scotty got a job with Douglas Aircraft and later, he started in the building trade. Scotty was always a hard worker. Their second child, Raymond Jr., was born in Long Beach. She loved being a parent. When the Korean War started, Scotty was called back into service because he was part of the reserves.

Charlotte had two young children and was pregnant with a third when Scotty was called into service again. Feeling desperate, she went to see the Mayor of Long Beach. She met with the Mayor and told her story. The Mayor listened, called the San Diego Navy base, and put a "Hold on Ray Scott." Instead of going to war, Scotty was stationed in Long Beach until the birth of their third child whom they named Phillip. He was then discharged because men with three children were not drafted. Scotty returned to work on tracks of homes and they had a nice little family life taking part in Indian Guides, Brownies, Little League and Baseball. Mikki participated in theatre, Glee Club, and Jobs Daughters, as her father was in the Masons. While the family enjoyed vacationing together at Lake Havesu every summer, there was a special bond between Scotty and his sons Ray and Phil. They did so many things together including camping, boating, water skiing, golfing and bowling. You could always find Scotty in the street with his boys playing baseball while Charlotte cheered from the sidelines. They really had a "Leave it to Beaver" family. No one gave Charlotte a Bible growing up, so she made sure all of her children received Bibles of their own. As she never had a pet growing up, she made sure the kids had a dog named Muffie, who lived to be 16. Everybody loved both Charlotte and Scotty as they had many friends. They enjoyed ballroom dancing together. There were also lots of events through the Building Contractors Association and the Pacific Sportsman Club. They took part in many activities and were very social.

Charlotte enjoyed putting in a garden with lettuce, radishes, beans and other vegetables. She'd get down on her hands and knees to tend to her garden. Her favorite flower was the rose and her favorite color was blue. Throughout her life, she read Guide Posts faithfully. Charlotte was also a wonderful cook saying she was self-taught. Her favorite meal was fried chicken, mashed potatoes and lemon pie. She loved having a big Sunday supper for family and she was always there after school for the kids and dinner was always ready as they sat down every evening around the dinner table. For Christmas, the family always helped decorate the tree and they put up lights. Charlotte was a creative seamstress and made many of Mikki’s clothes during elementary and junior high school. She would also help out some of the neighborhood kids, whose mothers didn’t have sewing machines, and sew patches onto their Cub Scout uniforms. Mikki, Ray and Phil were always comfortable in offering up the help of their parents to their friends.

Scotty earned his building contractor's license and worked for 10 years in his own business, Scott Construction. He even added additions onto the family home. Ray Jr. followed in his Dad’s footsteps and became a building contractor, starting in California and eventually moving his business to Arizona. The kids had lots of friends because their house had a pool table and rumpus room. All of the kids had parties at home. By 1969, Scotty went to Vietnam during the war, working for the government. It was lonely while he was gone, but after 18 months he returned and they moved to Ventura. After taking a test, Charlotte got a job with the California Highway Patrol. When Scotty died after open heart surgery in 1979, it was extremely difficult because no one had a chance to say goodbye. The couple had been married for 37 years. She moved to Westminster where she worked for the CHP for another four years. She was so grateful when Phil and grandson Ray moved in with her for a while, because it wasn't quiet anymore. When the grandchildren were born, she was thrilled with each birth. She had a special connection with the first born grandchild, Dena, as she'd read to her and spend special time with her.

Then, the unexpected happened. After being a widow for five years, Charlotte met John Langford and fell in love. The couple married and John moved to California to be with Charlotte. Wanting to move to Indiana again, the couple bought a house on the lake in Terre Haute, Indiana, and moved back. While John enjoyed fishing, Charlotte had her hobbies of church and friends. She loved gospel music and her favorite song was "How Great Thou Art" by Alan Jackson. She was a hugger later in life and always said "I love you." After her stroke in 2004, she had no doubt that Jesus loved her because she had an awesome experience of angels surrounding her. She handmade angels that she sold along with dolls and jewelry. She sent handmade angel bookmarks to people who were 90-years-old or older. Charlotte also wrote to many pen pals. She had a strong belief in God throughout her life and was very involved in church. Her favorite Bible verse was John 3:16 and her church taught her how to pray her favorite prayer: "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take."

In recent years, Mikki was so grateful that her job allowed her to travel so she could visit her mom. She'd spent four or five days visiting and took her mother to church and they'd go out to lunch. Over the course of her life, Charlotte's happiest times in her life were raising her three children and knowing they were happy. She truly loved her grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well. One thing she was thankful for was knowing the value of a dollar. Her advice to friends and family: "Always be optimistic and keep your faith in God. Attend church and be patient in everything you do, whether it be raising a family, working, or whatever. Love everyone. I learned to love everyone because everyone has good points about them."

She squeezed Mikki's hand before she died and in the end, she was surrounded by family. Charlotte Burnett Newman Scott Langford closed out her memoirs with the words: "I love you all very much!" Charlotte is coming home to rest next to her first husband, Scotty, as her stories live on.

She will be remembered as loving, generous, compassionate, and kind. She was a wonderful mother and doting grandmother. The family will miss everything about Charlotte. Mikki will miss calling her every Saturday morning. Her mother looked forward to those calls and they talked for a good while about all of the grandkids. She always said "I love you and I'll talk to you next Saturday, if not sooner…" The family believes they will be reunited with Charlotte one day as she has been reunited with Scotty.

Charlotte was preceded in death by her parents, husband Raymond Earl Scott, Sr. (Scotty) and four siblings, Mildred, Richard, Freeman and Irene. She is loved and remembered by her husband John; daughter Mikki and son-in-law Dennis; son Raymond Jr. and daughter-in-law Laurie; son Phillip and daughter-in-law Marsha; grandchildren Dena, Mike, Jacob, Raymond, Johnny, Alisa, and Steven; great-grandchildren Summer, Taylor, Christine, Jaylon, Connor, Austin, Aubrie, Doran, Caytelyn and Payton; brothers Bill and Jack; friends Mary Ann, Bob and Minnie; extended relatives and friends in Indiana and California.

Memorial donations are welcome in Charlotte's name to Vista Care (www.vistacare.com).

Eulogy by Mikki:

Good afternoon…

Today we gather to honor and lay to rest Charlotte Scott-Langford, a beloved wife, mother, grandmother and sister. The last few weeks of Mother's life were times of struggle and courage. She asked the Lord over and over again to take her home as she had finally tired of battling her illness. Her grandson Mike told her that the Lord had only dusted off the seat and wasn't quite ready.

When I was going through Mother's belongings, I found a book which I had given to her many years ago - "Reflections from a Mother's Heart." Each page bears a question for the writer to share their innermost thoughts and experiences of their life. Some of Mother's writings were stories that we have heard over the years, but one message that continued throughout her writings was her deep love and devotion for her Lord and Savior (Page 78). Mom doesn't remember if she was ever baptized, but she recalls exactly when she accepted Christ as her personal savior (Page 31). Mother's love for Jesus taught us how to love one another and have respect for family and that we have no foes.

Mother was born on April 13, 1923 in Terre Haute, IN. Her parents Ferd & Edna Newman and her six siblings were a product of the Great Depression. As she wrote in her memoirs – "I didn't know we were poor because everyone else was the same as us." Mother learned at a very early age the value of a nickel and how to make it grow. Mother married Ray Scott on Chrismas Eve 1941 and the next year Dad volunteered to join the US Navy. Mom and Dad corresponded through censored mail. When Dad's parents moved to California, Mom came along. She quickly earned a job at the Long Beach shipyard as a welderette or "Rosie the Riveter" as we've become to know these tenacious women of WWII. Her next job was a Long Distance Operator and then she transferred her job back to Terre Haute working as a Long Distance Operator. She stayed there until Dad's Navy assignment was complete. After I was born, they moved back to California and that is where they made their home for 32 years. When all of the kids had left home our parents moved to Ventura so that Dad could take a job with the State of California in that community. It wasn't long before Mom also took a full time job there with the California HP. Dad passed away in Sept 1979 after 37 years of marriage.

In 1984 Mother married John Langford and they would have celebrated their 25th anniversary on April 28. John is not able to be with us today, but we have already expressed our gratitude to him for caring for our Mother during her illnesses over the past five years.

Mother relished her talent for making crafts and was always searching for new ideas. She enjoyed her years of garage saleing with husband John and selling her sweet wares in antique shops around town. Her most recent project though was sending birthday cards to seniors across the country who were turning 90 years or older. She would get their names from the "Good Old Days" magazine. These people were perfect strangers and many of them became pen pals. On her desk I found dozens of notes, cards and photos from these new friends and it was so touching to learn that she had brightened the days of so many. I have since written to each one to tell them of Mother's passing.

Being at her bedside was difficult but it was also a time to show our undying love for a wonderful Mother. She talked almost daily of her family – naming each and every one. Every morning we would say "Good Morning" and one day she said "Again?" She really wanted to go home. She loved the gospel songs of Alan Jackson and we would play his CD for her. One day she said, "I love you Alan Jackson" and then she gazed at me and said "Can you get Alan Jackson to come see me!" If only I could have made that happen!

When Mother turned 75 my brothers and I flew her to Las Vegas for a great family celebration. It was a time of sharing our love and reflection of her past. A lasting memory book was created for her with contributions from every family member and her special friends. She told me many times that she would page through it to recall all of the fun we had together. We share this memory book with you today.

Mother leaves behind her husband John, three children (Mikki, Ray & Phil), seven grandchildren (Dena, Mike, Jacob, Raymond, Johnny, Alisa & Steven), 10 great-grandchildren (Summer, Taylor, Christine, Jaylon, Connor, Austin, Aubrie, Doren, Caytelyn and Payton) and two brothers Bill and Jack Newman.

In closing I want to thank God for giving us a Mother who loved us unconditionally. She was fun, loving, generous, compassionate and kind. I already miss my Saturday morning phone calls to her. Mother is finally pain free and so today we celebrate the peace that she so deserves and the happiness of being reunited with our Dad.