Charmion Southerby's Obituary
In celebration of Charmion Southerby’s beautiful life, family and friends will gather at Skylawn Funeral and Memorial Park, Highway 92 at Skyline Blvd, San Mateo, CA 94402. The service will be held on Monday, October 28, at 2:00 p.m. in the Vista room.Charmion “Char” Conn Southerby, age 94 years young, went to be with our Lord on Wednesday, October 16, 2019. She was born to Isaac Berthold Conn and Hazel Marion Pierson Conn on February 4, 1925, in St. Petersburg, Florida. Char’s late brother, Robert “Bob” Conn, was a U.S. Navy Chief Radio Technician who later rose to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. Char has two children Paul Dean Southerby and Sara Kim Southerby Luiggi and another close family member, Shawn Jipp, who she regarded as a second son. She has a daughter‑in‑law Cynthia Ann Southerby and son‑in‑law Eric Luiggi. She has two nieces Catherine Marion Conn, Carolyn Elizabeth Mackey and her husband Thomas Jefferson Mackey. She has three grandchildren Joseph Anthony Luiggi, Kenneth Ryan Luiggi and Daniel Luiggi and five great‑grandchildren. Char is loved immensely by all her family and friends.Char had a childlike spirit, great sense of humor and exuberance of energy and radiant joy. She was truly a beautiful gift from God to her family and everyone who knew her. She was very funny and liked to joke with others, so within minutes she had you laughing and smiling from ear-to-ear. Her family and friends have countless funny stories with Char that will continue to be talked about for years to come. Her sense of humor, loving spirit and close relationship with God poised her beautifully to raise two children single-handedly. Her children love and appreciate the sacrifices she made throughout her life and for teaching them about God and so many other wonderful things. She truly is their hero.Char was a devoted Christian and loved the Lord with her whole heart and enjoyed sharing the gospel with others. She had many passions and was full of life. She had a strong love, dedication and loyalty to her family and country. She was truly the great family patriarch as she was involved in writing letters to politicians and being in the know with new legislation. She was selfless and truly a sweet, kind, wonderful person who put others first and helped the less fortunate. On a regular basis, Char would go to the local churches to pick up food (brown bags) and pack as many as she could in her Jeep to then distributed to the elderly and those in need. She truly understood the meaning of love one another.Char was born during the depression and it severely impacted her father’s real estate business. Her father’s relatives encouraged him to move the family to Chicago, Illinois, so they packed up and left St. Petersburg, Florida. Once in Chicago, Char lived in a three-story building with all her relatives on each floor. Char had many fond memories of this time in her life and going from floor-to-floor visiting her relatives on a daily basis.Char’s parents encouraged her to go to Chicago Teachers College to get her teaching credentials. She worked at Stouffer’s restaurant and her father’s store/post office to help pay for her college education. She also attended Moody Bible College and worked at The Christian & Missionary Alliance Church in Niagara Falls, New York. After moving to California, Char attended San Jose State University to update her teaching credentials.Char was an accomplished school teacher for 30+ years and she taught in Chicago, Illinois, Tomkins Cove, New York, and Mountain View, California. Char loved teaching 3rd and 4th grade students in particular as she often said, “they are still part of heaven.” She absolutely loved being a teacher and the kids equally loved her. She loved classical music and played it often in her classrooms. She had wonderful art projects for the kids as she was a natural born artist. She loved creating artwork from pottery, mosaic tiles, stained glass, stamped leather and the list goes on. She and her 4th grade students created a jellybean mosaic (President Ronald Reagan’s favorite candy) replicating the presidential seal. After five months of gluing, placing and arranging jellybeans on a square board, her class sent their work of art off to the White House. The event landed in the Times Tribune newspaper where an article was written called “Whisman kids send Reagan a unique gift.” Char was quoted as saying, “We will eagerly await a letter from the White House” and “just some word of thanks that would make the children happy.” The kids were hoping for a letter, but stated they knew “he’s probably busy.” On February 24, 1987, the President wrote a letter to the children thanking them for the thoughtful gift and further stated “you can be especially proud of your artistry” and “keep up the good work!” On another occasion, Char’s students two years prior made a mosaic for Governor George Deukmejian and received a thank you letter in return.Char was truly ahead of her times with maintaining a vegan diet for over 50+ years, and being a strong proponent of conserving energy and recycling materials. Char was a natural born artist, loved to write poems and passionately worked on two children’s books. One was about creation verses evolution and the other was about Bible promises. She illustrated both beautifully with her drawings and water colors. She had a passion for life, learning and sharing God’s love. Our Mom, Grandmother and friend will be missed. She will forever be treasured deeply in our hearts. We look forward to reuniting with her again someday and what a glorious day that will be.
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