Charlotte P. Hein

Charlotte P. Hein, 86, of Greensburg, died, Wednesday, March 26, 2025 in Redstone Highlands. She was born on April 23, 1938, in Wilkes-Barre, a daughter of the late Glenn Prudhon and Helen Meyers Prudhon. Charlotte was a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in West Point and a long-time member of Atonement Lutheran Church in Wyomissing, Pa.

Charlotte entered the Kingdom of God triumphantly to be re-united with her beloved husband, Virgil Hein and the many family members and friends who prepared the way before her. Those she leaves behind will grieve her passing for long days to come, but in quieter moments, cherished memories of their time together will bring a smile to their lips and likely force a giggle.

Charlotte was a renaissance homemaker. Few kids in Reading, Pa. sat down to a nightly dinner at 6:30 p.m. in the 1970s; even fewer were treated to hard to pronounce, but wonderful to eat entrees such as Coq au Vin, Coquilles Saint-Jacques and Quiche Lorraine. Seldom was the same meal served twice unless by specific request. She honed her culinary wizardry in France where her first husband, James Meyers of Shillington, Pa. now of Oregon, an Air Force physician, was stationed in the early 1960s. Going out for dinner inevitably proved a disappointment.

After dinner, she would retire to the living room to play by memory – without flaw – The Entertainer, The Man That Got Away and other lengthy selections on the family piano.

Charlotte’s cursive handwriting was sublime. Her penmanship exquisite. Throwing out one of her holiday cards or letters felt almost like a misdemeanor. A Penn State Art Education grad, she expressed her talents across a wide variety of mediums: pottery, oil paints, and her personal favorite, hard-to-master watercolor. She illustrated Bebe Mile’s “Wonderful World of Bulbs”, published in 1963, with meticulous pen-and-ink drawings. After college, Charlotte taught English and art to public high school students for several years along Philadelphia’s Main Line.

Long before spinning class or jazzercize was a thing, Charlotte regularly swam laps, engaged in Royal Canadian Air Force calisthenics and walked her neighborhood endlessly to stay fit. Neighborhood jaunts might last for hours, for Charlotte shared her gift of gab with a positive word for everyone, friend and stranger alike. Anyone who phoned the house faced daunting odds they would encounter a busy signal when Charlotte and her two younger sisters were locked on a three-way-call (Virgil, a Bell Labs engineer may have paid a premium for this technology in the 1970s) sorting out romantic misadventures.

Charlotte existed in her own time zone – “Mom Time” – running fashionably late – particularly when it came to picking up her children after music lessons, sports practices or the mall. Her speedy red 1969 Plymouth Barracuda would inevitably rumble up about 15 minutes after everyone else had departed the scene. Weeding flowerbeds, deadheading petunias, washing her long, flowing hair, shucking corn – all conspired to help Charlotte lose track of time.

A lifelong learner, Charlotte picked up skiing in her mid-30s after joining The Flying Dutchmen Ski Club, where she also met Virgil. Not only could she execute graceful short-swing parallel turns, but she could pour on the heat on the slalom course, winning several club races.

In her later years, she enjoyed traveling the country in a camper van with Virgil to visit their children and attend grandchildren’s sporting events, plays or concerts. And while she was most definitely NOT a camper, the van served as a comfy place to ride and heat up leftovers from the previous night’s dinner enroute to the next hotel.

Charlotte likely owned the most comprehensive self-help library in the Commonwealth – a source of amusement for her children, but ultimately, a telling hint that all was not perfect with her world. Mental illness ran in Charlotte’s family and would surface from time to time, particularly in her later years. With the help of God, loving family and physicians, Charlotte persevered and prevailed through several trying periods.

After Virgil passed, Charlotte relocated from sunny Ocala, Florida to Greensburg to live nearer to family. Thus began her second act in her new adopted hometown of Greensburg. She loved her apartment at Redstone Highlands, with its caring staff and countless opportunities to socialize with new friends. Charlotte’s social calendar was packed. She relished local restaurants and adored attending River City Brass and the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra at the Palace Theatre. St. Vincent Summer Theatre performances were never to be missed.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Virgil Hein of Bunceton, Missouri and beloved aunt, Margaret Meyers of Wilkes-Barre. Charlotte is survived by her children, Todd Meyers (Maria) of Greensburg, PA and Stephanie (Jim) Flanagan of Boalsburg, PA; her step-daughter, Miriam Hein Hennosy (Kevin) of Kansas City, MO and step-son, Jerrell Hein (Wanda) of Austin, TX; her sisters, Annette Crane (Frazer) of Southport, North Carolina and Paulette Medhurst of Salt Lake City, Utah; her grandchildren, Zachary, Scott and Thomas Meyers, Declan and Milo Flanagan, Kurt, Evan, Ezra, Nehemiah, Jeremy, Zel and J.T. Hein, and Adela Jore and Johanna Allen (all of Texas); niece, Alex Tognoni and nephews, Greg and Andrew Miller and Al Altizer.

A Graveside Service and Celebration of Life will be held on April 26 at Clarks Fork Trinity Lutheran Church Cemetery in Clarks Fork, Missouri. A private Celebration of Life ceremony will be held at the convenience of the family in Greensburg.

Please consider making a memorial gift in Charlotte’s memory to the American Cancer Society or Redstone at www.redstone.org/types-of-gifts or 6 Garden Center Drive, Greensburg, Pa. 15601.

KEPPLE GRAFT FUNERAL HOME INC. in Greensburg has been entrusted with the arrangements.

For online condolences, please visit www.kepplegraft.com.