- Date Of Birth: August 29, 1920
- Date Of Death: August 15, 2012
- State: Indiana
Charlene Elizabeth Beeson Daugherty, 91, of Pendleton, Indiana, passed away on August 15, 2012, at St. John’s Hospital, in the arms of her loving son, and surrounded at her bedside by her much-loved family, extended family, friends, and caregivers.
Although she had been in poor health for some years, this latest illness was sudden. She was preceded in death by her husband, former Indiana State Police District Commander George W. Daugherty, in 1984, and their infant daughter Mary Elizabeth, in 1950. She is survived by her son George W. Daugherty Jr., San Francisco, her sister Joanne Seiler, her nephew Les Wickliff, numerous other nieces and nephews, and by her dear friend David Wong, who was like a son to her. Two sisters, Bette Alice Wickliff, and Lillian Turner, also preceded her in death. She was the great great grand-daughter of the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. She was born on August 29, 1920, in Muncie, the daughter of Basil Earl Beeson and Lillian Iona Daniels, and lived her childhood in Yorktown, and later, Indianapolis. She was a graduate of Ball State University. Mrs. Daugherty was a beloved and respected educator, public servant, historical preservationist, community leader, activist, volunteer, and patron of the performing arts. She was a lifelong active member of The Democrat Party.
In the 1940’s, she taught at both Pendleton and Lapel High Schools, but it was her four and a half decades as a private kindergarten teacher in Pendleton that endeared her to the hearts of thousands of children who were her students. For three consecutive terms, she was Fall Creek Township Trustee, where among her proudest accomplishments were her pivotal roles in the funding and construction of the new Pendleton / Fall Creek Township Fire Station in Pendleton, and the acquisition of its new fire trucks and ambulances. She would personally help welcome each new fire truck as it entered service for “her boys,” The Pendleton Firemen. She was one of the founders of The Pendleton Festival Symphony, of which her son George was Music Director from 1975 to 1985. She served on the Pendleton Park Board, Pendleton Library Board, Anderson Symphony Guild, Paramount Theatre Guild, Pendleton Garden Club, the original Pendleton Historical Society, Pendleton Art League, and The Historic Fall Creek, Pendleton Settlement. She was a charter member of the Pendleton Chapter of Tri Kappa Sorority, and was a member of The Olivian Society, and The Indiana State Police Auxiliary.
Mrs. Daugherty was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Anderson for over 65 years, and served in many capacities during those decades. But her most enduring contribution to Trinity was her vision for creating a Memorial Garden next to the Church, which she planted and nurtured for several decades, and which still flourishes on the Trinity Church grounds. Of all of the good works for which Mrs. Daugherty is remembered, however, is her love and nurturing of Falls Park in Pendleton, Indiana. For many years, she was the Chief Gardener and Landscaper of Falls Park, and in 1976 crusaded to have a derelict service station demolished on the corner of Pendleton Avenue and Water Street, which was transformed into a beautiful garden and fountain oasis. Her flower and tree plantings in Falls Park were legendary, and transformed the park into one of Indiana’s most public gardens. The Gazebo in Falls Park bears her name. Mrs. Daugherty received many honors for her community and charitable work. She was named a Sagamore of The Wabash in 1991, by Governor Frank O’Bannon.
Mrs. Daugherty and her son, George, are one of the few mothers and sons to have both been named Sagamore of The Wabash. In 1986, she received the Indiana Jefferson Award, given by The Indianapolis Star, for her charitable works. She was named Citizen of The Year by The Pendleton Lions Club in 1992, received the Meritorious Service Award from the American Heart Association in 1995, and in 1996, Anderson Mayor Mark Lawler declared April 26 as “Charlene Daugherty Day.” She loved traveling with her son, orchestral conductor and producer George Daugherty Jr., and together they traveled all over the world as she attended his performances, including many concerts on Broadway, at the Hollywood Bowl, in concert halls all over America and Canada, as well as Rome, Florence, London, Paris, and many other locales. She accompanied her son to Tokyo, Japan when he conducted one of the major international official Millennium Concerts on December 31, 1999, marking in the new century.
Mrs. Daugherty’s son, George, would especially like to extend his never-ending love and thanks to the dedicated and dear friends of his mother – and of his — who truly made it possible for her to stay in her own home until the day she departed, including Judy Renbarger, Susan Markle and Mike Hart, Cathy and Jack Tudor, Coke Mellinger, Mary Huntzinger, Sandi and Dick Butler, Jan Foster, Kathy Barber, Brenda and Robert Fullen, and her incredible caregivers from Home Instead. They truly all were “family.”
