Charlotte Willis Totten

Charlotte was born in Oregon City to Fred and Norma Arant, the last of 10 children. After her mother died, she was adopted as an infant by Harriet Willis and was raised in Issaquah and Seattle by a family that included three sisters, Lida, Frances, and Ruth. Charlotte attended Roosevelt High School in Seattle, Willamette University in Salem, then University of Colorado School of Music at Boulder, where she graduated with a degree in music performance at age nineteen. Charlotte's true passion was music: she performed on the radio at age twelve, taught piano lessons throughout her life, belonged to Ladies Musical Club, and was a charter member of the Seattle Sigma Alpha Iota, an honorary music fraternity. She volunteered in the Music in the Schools Program and performed at various venues throughout Seattle, both as a solo artist and as an accompanist. Charlotte had a great sense of adventure that took her on hikes through Switzerland, camping throughout the West, and bicycling in the Rockies. Charlotte supported the WW II war efforts at Harvard University by working at the Underwater Sound Lab on acoustical torpedoes and sonar departments. She worked at the S...[more]

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tle Times before marrying William Totten in 1947, whom she divorced in 1971. She is survived by two children, Cherie Grant and Pat Totten; her son Bill died at age 18 in a hiking accident. She has two grandchildren, Darcy Grant (Kevin Scarbery) and Courtney Grant Schoenwald (Josh) and four grandchildren. Please join the family for a remembrance for Charlotte Willis Totten, which will be held February 4th, 2017 at 1 - 2:30 pm at Westgate Chapel, 22901 Edmonds Way, Edmonds, WA 98020