Charlotte Elizabeth Human Fox, 85, passed away peacefully on August 10, 2023, following a stroke. She was surrounded by her loving family during her final days.
Born April 9, 1938, Charlotte was the daughter of Charles Carr Human and Winnie Peters Human who raised her in Wartburg, TN.
She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Carson-Newman College (now University) in Jefferson City, TN in 1960.
Growing up as an only child, Charlotte greatly enjoyed the company of her many aunts, uncles and cousins. Both her parents had nine siblings, and while living with her grandparents, the door was open to relatives and neighbors aplenty. She delighted in their lively conversations, hearing the entertaining news of the rest of the family and the serious news of the men off at war.
As an older child, she would travel to visit some of her relatives. Some of her fondest childhood memories are of visiting her cousins in Sequatchie Valley, learning how to ride horses on the farm. As an adult, Charlotte was completely in her element during the annual family reunions.
Charlotte loved hearing and making music, singing during her youth and playing piano all of her life. She started playing the piano for Sunday night services at her Baptist church at the age of twelve and playing for morning service by age sixteen. She also often sang duets with her uncle at church during her youth.
In 1959, Charlotte and a college friend saw a brochure advertisement for summer work in a small lake resort town called Chautauqua in New York State. Having never been north of Tennessee before, Charlotte decided to hop on a Greyhound bus with her friend and travel to this unknown place to be a waitress at the Muncie Hotel the summer before her senior year.
One of the fellows who came to pick the girls up at the bus station was John H. Fox from Pennsylvania. They fell in love almost immediately, spent a wonderful summer together working in the same hotel, and got married the next year. They remained married and best friends for over 60 years. They had three children: Mary Winna, Penny Elizabeth and John Brooks Fox who all grew up in Tullahoma, TN.
In early child-rearing years, Charlotte was a homemaker, seamstress and part-time piano teacher but also took time out to volunteer where she could, often in school. Her children enjoyed having her as room mother, brightening the classroom with her sunbeam of a smile.
In 1973, she went back to work and began her full-time teaching career at Lee Elementary School in Tullahoma. For the next 27 years, she taught grades 1st through 4th, relishing the rewards of watching her classroom children flourish and grow. Her students meant a lot to her, and she was often known to give former students a big hug if she saw them around town. She did her best to help her students engage by getting creative with ways to supplement the curriculum by bringing things from home – music, tools or other items around the house that might relate to the lessons being taught. She thoroughly enjoyed children and was fortunate to have a fulfilling career.
At home, she was a strong and supportive mother and wife whose work ethic led her to cook and clean as well as take care of her kids while often having papers to grade and other schoolwork to do at home. But she took time out to talk and spend time with her family, laughing along at our silly jokes.
Charlotte was an avid reader, nearly always having a history book or other literature nearby. Charlotte also continued to play piano, and played for many years at the Unitarian Church in Tullahoma. Later on, she played as a volunteer at Trinity Care Center in Tullahoma, helping those in need to participate in the joy of music. Friends remember her as being very welcoming, always glad to see them.
After her career, she was blessed by 6 grandchildren. It made her day to shop for them, drive them to where they needed to be, and just be with them.
So, in 2005, after 40 years of living in Tullahoma, she and John sold their house on Hickory Hills Drive and moved to Nashville to be closer to them. She is dearly missed by all of her family.
Charlotte is preceded in death by her parents and her husband, John H. Fox.
She is survived by her children, Mary Winna Fox of Nashville, Penny Lueckenhoff (Bruce) of Brentwood, Brooks Fox (Lora) of Nashville, and six grandchildren, Josie, Clara, and Heather Lueckenhoff and Henry, Tommy, and Ellie Fox.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, August 19, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. at Woodbine Funeral Home, Hickory Chapel 5852 Nolensville Road, Nashville, Tennessee 37211. Visitation will begin at 1:00 p.m. Reception following the service. https://www.woodbinefuneralhome.com
Memorial donations, marked in memory of Charlotte Fox, may be made to: The Arc Davidson County & Greater Nashville, 240 Great Circle Road., Suite 338, Nashville, TN 37228.
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