Charlotte Char Hana Kamiya

Charlotte Hana Kamiya was born on Sunday, December 5, 1982 at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and joined her mother, Lura, then age 30 and her father, Shingo, then age 37, and her big sister (Onechan in Japanese), then age 4. Charlotte’s father is Japanese and her mother is Cajun French from Louisiana, a unique mixture of heritages in which Charlotte took great pride and interest.

Charlotte was baptized into the Catholic faith on January 30, 1983 at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Gonzales, Louisiana. Charlotte was blessed to meet her grandmother, Lee Ella Lanoux Mire, for the first and only time on that baptism trip as her grandmother passed away shortly thereafter on October 20, 1983.

Charlotte was the namesake of her great grandmother, Charlotte Richard Mire, mother of Charlotte’s grandfather, Pershing Mire. Charlotte inherited many traits from her great grandmother, that of faith in the Lord, perseverance, determination, love of children and most of all love of talking on the phone every chance she could get. What would her great grandmother have done if she had had the ability to text?

Charlotte was raised in Yeadon, Pennsylvania and attended St. Louis Catholic School until her move to Gonzales, Louisiana in 1992 where she attended St. Theresa Catholic School and graduated with the Class of 1997, whose class motto was, “Never let yesterday’s disappointments overshadow tomorrow’s dreams”. Charlotte took this motto to heart as she was always able to work through any disappointment and see the bright side coming tomorrow.

Charlotte attended St. Michael the Archangel High School (formerly known as Bishop Sullivan High School) and graduated with the Class of 2001. She was a member of the Beta Club; the National Honor Society; the Ambassador Club; Peer Ministry; the Spanish Club (Chaplain and Miss Spanish Club at Winter Formal Court), and was an Academic Letterman for multiple years and a Senior Favorite - Most Intelligent. Charlotte held the rank of third in her 2001 graduating class.

Charlotte went on to attend Louisiana State University where she received a full-tuition scholarship for her four years of undergraduate study. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology in 2005.

During undergrad and for several years following graduation, Charlotte worked at the Department of Corrections Credit Union, a place she talked about constantly and really enjoyed.

Charlotte went on to get her Masters of Social Work degree from LSU in May 2010. During her master’s program, Charlotte held internships at Cancer Services and Twin Oaks Elementary. In her last year of graduate school, Charlotte was awarded the Betty J. Stewart Memorial Award scholarship.

Upon receiving her MSW, Charlotte began work as a licensed social worker with Spectrum Rehab Services in Denham Springs, a psychiatric rehabilitation program serving adults and children with mental and emotional disabilities. Charlotte loved her career choice, was enthusiastic about the ability to help those in need, and was proud of her ability to be of service.

Throughout her life, Charlotte displayed her natural tendency and desire to help others.

Charlotte’s concern for her own actions and the needs of others sometimes took a toll on her as she would agonize over the best course of action and how she could lend a hand, often at the expense of her own time and freedom. But she didn’t see it that way, she just “wanted to help.”

Charlotte was a deep thinker and planner, often not sharing the planning until it was an accomplished deed when you’d then marvel at the amount of time and thought she’d put into a project.

She loved children and babysat for so many throughout her life. Children gravitated to Charlotte as they felt her enthusiasm for life – and as she’d say, she looked like a kid to them because she was so small.

Charlotte’s life-long best friend, Joji Thompson, is Charlotte’s kindred soul. They share sensitivity towards all; always the first to rush to anyone who they feel is hurt in any way to see if they can “make it better.” They delight in the little things in life and see how they make up the bigger whole of existence. Though separated by years and distance, the strong bond continues.

Charlotte kept close to home and family, an important part of her life and one for which we are thankful. She loved the family parties, especially when they were at our house because, “they stay longer when it’s at our house.” Charlotte’s extensive family of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and the many, many cousins was always a comfort to her. She’d come in, start smiling and hug, hug, hug her way around the group and then she’d beeline for the kids to find out what they were doing and cuddle the new ones for awhile. Holidays were family time to Charlotte, and her absence will be especially felt during those times.

Even though Charlotte sometimes thought Mom’s projects were hokey, she didn’t stray far from the “crafty” side as displayed by her love of markers, pretty papers, special touches, handwritten thank you cards and letters, and the love of jewelry.

Charlotte often commented on how “lucky” she was to have a Dad who “can do anything,” and she should know as those calls came regularly…Dad, my car is making a funny noise…Dad, I need a new vanity, can you make me one?...Dad, I want to repaint my furniture to match my new apartment…Dad, I’m moving AGAIN…Dad, can you take pictures for me of this special occasion?...Can you make me extra copies of the pics for my friends?...I need a new plant for my office, can you pot me one in a pretty pot?

And Cheryl was always the person to whom Charlotte measured herself against because she was so proud of all her successes, including her marriage to Eric. She was in awe of the fact that Cheryl could leave home and exist away from the family, although she missed her so much. She was so happy to be asked to be Cheryl’s maid of honor, and so proud of herself that she “did a good job” with all the preparations and details and got Cheryl’s praise for the work she’d done. Eric was her new-found brother and she could see how much he loved her Onechan.

Now it’s time, beautiful angel, for you to be taken care of by the Lord in order that you may help Him take care of others, including your friends and family that have been left behind. We all wait for the day when we may join you in His presence.

Charlotte went to the Lord on October 5, 2010, just two months short of her 28th birthday.

We leave you all with Charlotte’s own words:

What I Believe:

• Wishing on stars and long drives to clear the mind

• Sleeping peacefully to the sound of rain or the ocean

• If it is meant to be, it will be

• That music is therapy

• Reminiscing about childhood

• Drunken bliss

• Capturing precious moments in pictures

• Singing to your heart’s content

• Praying before bed

• In lifelong friends

• In spending time with the girls

• That I will find my soul mate

• That God has a special plan for me and He will lead me to it

• Making gifts from the heart

• That there must be more to life than this

• That I have a right to be here

• That making an “A” fulfills a great satisfaction

• In leading a fulfilling life

• Sense of humor and laughter for the soul and musical talent is truly a blessing

• Old people melting your heart