BOMBER MEMORIAL

CHARLENE RAE CLARK KOHL ~ Class of 1969
March 11, 1951 - June 1, 2021



June 1, 2021 at 10:13 AM, our lives changed forever. After 12 years and 13 strokes, in Mom's true stubborn fashion, she battled through her last four days to see Aron's and Lara's birthdays. She finally said, "Enough is enough" and was reunited with Dad after 36 years.

Our sweet mother was such a beautiful, caring and selfless woman. She loved her kids unconditionally and if at all possible, she loved her granddaughter more.

Mom had an obsession with the color yellow! LOVED it. If she had her way, absolutely everything would be some shade of yellow. Clothes, walls, furniture... you name it!

She absolutely loved flowers. Her favorite was the carnation, but it would bring her such joy to receive any sort of beautiful flowers. Whether picked from the side of the street, your garden or bought from the store.

Each summer growing up, Mom would take us on a trip. Nine out of ten times we ended up on the Oregon coast, mainly Lincoln City. This would come to be her happiest place. She would humor us kids and go out and do the touristy things, but she would have been just as content to sit and listen to the waves crash and to feel the salty mist on her face. I don't believe it was coincidence that she was listening to ocean sounds while walking into the arms of our dad.

Mom took such pride in being a mom to all and a Mema to her granddaughter's friends. She was raised that children didn't call adults by their first names, so our friends growing up and Aron's military brothers would call her Mom. It absolutely warmed her heart. She would always look forward to having her house full of all her "kids".

If you spent any amount of time with her, you would be sure to have heard a saying of some sort. Like, "The world is going to hell in a hand basket". Or God forbid, you step in front of her and she has to say, "You make a better door than a window". If you didn't close that door behind you, it was, "Were you born in a barn?" Or another classic, "We're in the wrong business". Boy did that stuff use to drive us crazy, but it's one of those things that we are finding we will miss the most.

Charlene was born in Richland to Charles and Nora Clark on March 11, 1951. She was an only child.

Charlene was a lifelong resident of the Tri-Cities and graduated with the Class of 1969 from Richland's Columbia High School. She left for only a short time while she started her family with Karl in Illinois. They had three children and not long after their youngest turned two years old, Karl passed away after a short illness. She stayed home and raised the kids until they got a bit older, and she went to work for the Finley School district. She initially got her foot in the door by volunteering, and over time she was certified as a para-educator in the special education classroom. She retired from that rewarding work after suffering her third stroke.

Mom had the absolute best smile ever. She would light up a room, and she will be so missed. It is a huge blessing for us to know that she was reunited with her parents and husband.

Charlene is survived by daughter Lara and son-in-law Carl; daughter Aubrey; son Aron and daughter-in-law Kristine; granddaughter Jadyn; sister-in-law Shari and brother-in-law Roy.

She loved being an auntie to Scott (Andrea), Kurt (Kim), Heather, Hope (Tom), Rudy (Brittany) and Hollie (Josh). Charlene also leaves numerous cousins with whom she was very close.

A Celebration of Life Open House was held Saturday, June 12, 2021 from 1:00 until 5:00 PM at the family's home, 170 S. Osborne Street in Kennewick.

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Bomber Memorial put together by Shirley COLLINGS Haskins ('66).