Charlene Shumate

Charlene Ann Shumate, one of three children of Grace Minnie (Goehring) Chilson and Fred Pleasant Chilson, was born on the family farm near Oakland, Iowa on February 1, 1936. She grew up in Oakland and graduated from Oakland High School.

Following school, Charlene joined the U. S. Air Force, where she provided logistical support during the Korean War. She was stationed at the Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. There, she met her future husband, Joseph Edward Shumate, and the couple was married at Pascagoula, Mississippi on March 12, 1955. They made their home in Niceville, Florida before moving to Oak Hill, West Virginia, where Charlene attended college, in Beckley, West Virginia. While in school, Charlene taught at Otter Creek School in West Virginia and in 1961, they moved to Carson, Iowa where Charlene began teaching elementary students at the Carson-Macedonia School. She attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha where she received her Bachelor's Degree in Education.

Charlene and Joseph were blessed with two children, Suzann JoAnne and Joseph Edward, Jr.

Charlene was a member of the Carson United Methodist Church. She enjoyed reading, spending time with her grandchildren, traveling and planning annual family get-a-ways. Her passion in life was teaching. Charlene retired in 1996 from the Riverside School, after 34 years of teaching 2nd and 3rd graders, but she continued to substitute teach when needed. Charlene was considered a "favorite teacher" among her former students, and she loved to visit with them.

Charlene and Joseph were married 55 years, when Charlene passed away at Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs, Iowa on May 24, 2010, at the age of 74 years, 3 months, and 23 days. She was preceded in death by her parents, Grace and Fred Chilson; and brother-in-law Duane Hartman.

Charlene is survived by her husband Joseph Shumate of Carson; daughter Suzann Duede of Carson; son Joseph Shumate, Jr. of La Follette, Tennessee; three grandchildren, Rachel Richardson and husband Todd and their children, Ayla and Bailey, of Carson, Ryan Duede and wife Brianne and their daughter Caitlin, of Carson, and Annalise Shumate of Tennessee; brother Darrell Chilson and wife Alta of Norman, Oklahoma; sister Shirley Hartman of Macedonia, Iowa; nieces and nephews; other relatives and many friends.

Interment in the Carson Cemetery.

A memorial fund has been established.