My mother who I love and miss so much

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August 12, 1943 - June 18, 2012.

Charlotte Wink, 68 of Springfield, Virginia and formerly of Tomah, died Monday, June 18, 2012, in Fairfax, Virginia. She was born to William O. and Eunice (Dana) Von Haden, on August 12, 1943, in Tomah. Charlotte was a member of the Tomah High School graduating Class of 1961. She worked for the United States Army as a Budget Program Analyst at the Pentagon. She was a member of the Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Church. She enjoyed traveling, history, and photography. She is survived by her children, James and Diane Wink of Centerville, VA, Joseph and Barbara Wink of Berlin, MD and Thomas and Lori Wink of Richmond, TX., 4 grandchildren Krista, Ashley, Hunter and Brennen, a sister, Esther Sullivan of Viroqua, 2 sisters-in-law, Joanna Jazdzewskiof Hartford Eileen Murray of Kendall, nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, 4 brothers, Raymond, Charles, Jerry and James and a brother-in-law Clarence Sullivan.

 

Willam Oscar (Bill) Von Haden and Eunice Dana Von Haden were married at St. Mary Immaculate Conception on November 25, 1930. They had six children.  Esther Von Haden Sullivan (my mom), James Von Haden (1934-1984), Raymond Von Haden (1956-1937), Charles Von Haden (1938-1975), Gerald (Jerry) Von Haden (1941-1995), and Charlotte Von Haden Wink (Aug. 12, 1943- June 18, 2012). Great Grandma and Great Grandpa, Grandma and Grandpa, Raymond and Charles are all buried at St. Mary’s Cemetery. Charlotte’s burial plot is next to theirs.

 

Jame’s wife, Joanna and Jerry’s wife, Eileen have both remarried.  My mom, Esther is widowed.

 

Charlotte was baptized, received first communion and penance, confirmed and married at St. Mary Immaculate Conception.  She graduated from St. Mary’s School and Tomah High School.

 

Charlotte and her ex-husband, James Wink have three surviving children. James Jr. (Jim) and his wife, Diana, have one daughter and live in Virginia.  Thomas and his wife, Lori, have one daughter and live in Texas.  Joseph (Joe) and his wife Barbara have two sons and live in Maryland.

 

When Charlotte and James were married they lived in California, Thailand, and the Washington D.C. area. Following their divorce, Charlotte and the boys lived in Madison, WI for a year and then returned to Springfield, VA.  Until she retired, Charlotte worked at the Pentagon and raised her sons.

 

Charlotte enjoyed travelling.  She took bus trips and tours. My mom, my aunt Eileen, and Charlotte took a short cruise together. Charlotte took a variety of classes through a community college’s Learning in Retirement program.  For a while she bowled and took yoga classes.

 

When Charlotte visited here she enjoyed going on “adventures” with my mom, other relatives and I We did a stained glass walking tour in Winona.  We went to Galena, IL with a stop at Sinsinawa where we walked the labyrinth and meditated.  We visited grottos and shrines.  We went looking for the world’s biggest cookie (in Ripon), and Charlotte expressed disappointment that they had eaten it.  One summer we stopped at every Catholic Church between Tomah and Viroqua to see how the décor updates enhanced or detracted from the feeling of a Catholic Church.

 

Charlotte enjoyed visiting family. After my grandfather Bill died, Charlotte usually stayed with my mom, Esther in Viroqua. They made a point of visiting my aunts (their sisters-in-law)  and cousins. They played games, especially cards, and visited. Charlotte enjoyed looking at flowers and gardens.  She often commented that Wisconsin cheese couldn’t be beat, and took home cheese curds every trip. Her last trip here was last summer when she came for mom’s (Esther’s) 80^th birthday party in July.

 

Several years ago Charlotte and I started exchanging animal figurines.  She would send me cows, and I sent her pigs. The rules were that the figurines had to be so ugly that they were cute, and they couldn’t cost more than $1.00 each.  On more than one occasion we spent more on postage than on the contents of the packages we sent. When she visited here she would find where I had stored the cows and display them in prominent places expressing great disappointment that I didn’t do so routinely.