Obituary for Charlotte Kennedy Singleton
Mount Desert
Charlotte Kennedy Singleton, 79, died on October 12, 2023, at Eastern Maine Medical Center from injuries suffered in a car accident. She was returning from a holiday in France to celebrate her birthday.
Charlotte was born in North Carolina in 1944 and grew up in Kentucky, Missouri, and Texas. Her parents, Wilbur Henry Tyte and Marion Jones Tyte were gifted communicators, a minister, and a teacher.
She graduated from Barnard College in New York, where she developed a passion for world affairs, human rights, and honest journalism. She raised her young children with her first husband, Stephen, in Germany and later in Portland, Oregon, where she became an influential community leader.
Charlotte married her second husband, Seth, in 1988, who courted her on a trip to Siberia. They were both deeply committed to raising family. They moved to Mount Desert Island in 2001 and built their home among woods and quarries. Seth’s expressive personality was a perfect complement to Charlotte’s quieter presence. They were married for 35 years.
Charlotte cared deeply about people, particularly children. She helped poor children in remote mountain areas of Vietnam gain medical treatment. For nearly 20 years in Maine, she was a court-appointed representative of children needing legal advocacy, taking the most difficult cases. In her final act of kindness, she facilitated the adoption of two sisters last month.
Charlotte loved the experience of new places and cultures. She traveled throughout Asia, Russia, Mongolia, and Europe. She was an avid reader and an exceptional editor. Her favorite coffee mug, a gift from her family, reads “I am silently correcting your grammar.”
She managed organizations with intense, quiet effectiveness - the World Affairs Council of Oregon and the National Council of World Affairs Organizations, the Mount Desert Island Historical Society, the program of the Camden Conference. She worked with Seth at universities in Ecuador and Vietnam. Charlotte led with an unerring moral and ethical sense, great kindness, and boundless energy.
Charlotte’s family cherished her loving nature, humor, generosity of spirit, and excellent cooking. Her grandchildren grew up on MDI skating on her quarry pond, playing games in her woods, and eating delicious food at her dinner table. She often expressed how she wished all people could experience her blessings.
Over the last decade, Charlotte spent time with family at Governor’s Harbor on Eleuthera, an island settled by her ancestors. She felt at home on the pink sands and with the kind and generous Bahamians. She enjoyed attending the beautiful church built in honor of her great-grandmother, also named Charlotte.
She is survived by her loving husband Seth, by daughter Abigail Curless and her husband Michael, by sons Andrew Kennedy and his wife Catlin, and Matthew Kennedy, by step-sons Andy Singleton and his wife Mary Ann, and Will Singleton, and by grandchildren Audyn and Opal Curless, Owen and Fionna Kennedy, and step-granddaughter Anna Singleton.
Charlotte will be dearly missed by all who knew her.
A memorial service will be held 11:00 am, Friday, October 27, 2023 at the Somesville Union Meeting House UCC, 1136 Main St. Mt. Desert. In keeping with her life’s work and concerns, the family encourages donations to an organization that protects journalists or helps children.
Condolences may be expressed at www.jordanfernald.com
Charlotte Kennedy Singleton, 79, died on October 12, 2023, at Eastern Maine Medical Center from injuries suffered in a car accident. She was returning from a holiday in France to celebrate her birthday.
Charlotte was born in North Carolina in 1944 and grew up in Kentucky, Missouri, and Texas. Her parents, Wilbur Henry Tyte and Marion Jones Tyte were gifted communicators, a minister, and a teacher.
She graduated from Barnard College in New York, where she developed a passion for world affairs, human rights, and honest journalism. She raised her young children with her first husband, Stephen, in Germany and later in Portland, Oregon, where she became an influential community leader.
Charlotte married her second husband, Seth, in 1988, who courted her on a trip to Siberia. They were both deeply committed to raising family. They moved to Mount Desert Island in 2001 and built their home among woods and quarries. Seth’s expressive personality was a perfect complement to Charlotte’s quieter presence. They were married for 35 years.
Charlotte cared deeply about people, particularly children. She helped poor children in remote mountain areas of Vietnam gain medical treatment. For nearly 20 years in Maine, she was a court-appointed representative of children needing legal advocacy, taking the most difficult cases. In her final act of kindness, she facilitated the adoption of two sisters last month.
Charlotte loved the experience of new places and cultures. She traveled throughout Asia, Russia, Mongolia, and Europe. She was an avid reader and an exceptional editor. Her favorite coffee mug, a gift from her family, reads “I am silently correcting your grammar.”
She managed organizations with intense, quiet effectiveness - the World Affairs Council of Oregon and the National Council of World Affairs Organizations, the Mount Desert Island Historical Society, the program of the Camden Conference. She worked with Seth at universities in Ecuador and Vietnam. Charlotte led with an unerring moral and ethical sense, great kindness, and boundless energy.
Charlotte’s family cherished her loving nature, humor, generosity of spirit, and excellent cooking. Her grandchildren grew up on MDI skating on her quarry pond, playing games in her woods, and eating delicious food at her dinner table. She often expressed how she wished all people could experience her blessings.
Over the last decade, Charlotte spent time with family at Governor’s Harbor on Eleuthera, an island settled by her ancestors. She felt at home on the pink sands and with the kind and generous Bahamians. She enjoyed attending the beautiful church built in honor of her great-grandmother, also named Charlotte.
She is survived by her loving husband Seth, by daughter Abigail Curless and her husband Michael, by sons Andrew Kennedy and his wife Catlin, and Matthew Kennedy, by step-sons Andy Singleton and his wife Mary Ann, and Will Singleton, and by grandchildren Audyn and Opal Curless, Owen and Fionna Kennedy, and step-granddaughter Anna Singleton.
Charlotte will be dearly missed by all who knew her.
A memorial service will be held 11:00 am, Friday, October 27, 2023 at the Somesville Union Meeting House UCC, 1136 Main St. Mt. Desert. In keeping with her life’s work and concerns, the family encourages donations to an organization that protects journalists or helps children.
Condolences may be expressed at www.jordanfernald.com