Charlene Rose (Nelson) Slater, 87, died peacefully Tuesday, January 12 in her home of 64 years, with more than 25 family members present for her final hours.
Charlene was born to the late Charles Wesley and Eileen Kneib Nelson on December 10, 1933, and married Robert L. Slater on November 13, 1954. They were blessed with five children; Charlie (Diana) and John (Kira), St. Joseph; David, Pleasant Valley, MO; Jim (Susan), Highland Village, TX, and Patty (Rob) Hummel; Leawood, KS; 17 grandchildren: Brian (Heather), Chad, Mitch, Alyssa Loeffler (Tony), Adam, Courtney Roberts (Nathan), Zach, Ashley, Bryson, Hailey Curtis (Drew), Hannah, Ellen and Rachel Slater; Carley, Madison, Katie and Bobby Hummel, and five great-grandchildren, John, Payton, Talen, Tripp and Slater, with another expected this summer. A granddaughter, Ashley Brooke, preceded her.
A homemaker, Charlene was a graduate of St. James School, the Convent of the Sacred Heart and attended Mount St. Scholastica College, Atchison, KS. She was an office nurse for Dr. H.N. Tospon prior to her marriage. While her husband was in the army, she worked for the Social Security Administration in Baltimore and the Arkansas Gazette in Little Rock before her children were born.
Charlene was a member of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, and served as president of the Altar Society. She and her husband co-chaired a $2.6. million fund drive for church renovation and an addition. She and Bob received the Cross of the Order of St. Benedict from Benedictine College in 1989. In 2006, she and her husband received the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's highest recognition, the Hope Award. She and Bob received the 2016 St. Scholastica award from Bishop LeBlond High School for their dedication to Catholic education.
Charlene served as president of the St. Joseph chapter of the Mount St. Scholastica Alumnae Association, was a board member at Bishop LeBlond High School, and a member of the Ladies of Charity. She volunteered in the Arts fund and several other campaigns, was a room mother at St. Francis, Cub Scout den mother and helped coach girls' basketball at St. Francis. She had been a volunteer at the House of Bread, the funeral luncheon committee at St. Francis, a volunteer cook for the priests and helped at the Food Kitchen.
Charlene's hobbies were photography, carpentry and gardening. She also bowled in the Cast-Off-League. Her extended family looked forward to the holiday dinners she hosted and to the specially decorated cakes she baked for birthdays and other special events. Charlene always looked forward to the vacations that included all 30-plus family members. She was a 20-year breast cancer survivor. Charlene and Bob lived in the same home for 64 years, where they raised their children and entertained their grandchildren.
Fond of traveling with her family, Charlene visited 49 states- all but North Dakota- and more than 25 foreign countries.
Survivors also include a sister, Anna Bell O'Rourke, and a brother, Richard L. Nelson.
Due to COVID, there will no formal family visitation. There will be public viewing, with no family present, from noon to 8:00 PM Thursday.
Private Family Rosary and Memorial Mass, with burial at Mt. Olivet.
Memorials may be made to Bishop LeBlond High School, St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Noyes Home or a charity of the donor's choice.
