Charlotte was born on 22 August 1937, in Burgdorf, Switzerland, the second child of Wilhelm and Julia Vollenweider. She grew up with her elder sister Maryann in the Béarnaise highlands, famous for the world’s best chocolate. She graduated from Physicians’ Assistant School in Bern, Switzerland. On 18 December 1962, she married the Swiss artist Tony E.V. Besson. In 1968, the Besson family emigrated from the Isle of Capri, Italy, to Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Tony and Charlotte moved to Estes Park, Colorado, in 1981, where they enjoyed living in The Retreat in Glen Haven for 28 years. For the past 11 years, Charlotte had been an active resident of the Good Samaritan Society – Estes Park Village. Since July 2020, she has been a resident of Aspyre Rock Creek Memory Care in Fort Collins.
Charlotte worked as a drug and alcohol rehabilitation counselor at the Harmony Foundation in Estes Park for 23 years, where she successfully ran the Family Program for several years.
Charlotte’s interests were many. Taught as a child by her mother in all varieties of needlework, Charlotte skillfully knitted and crocheted beautiful sweaters, scarves and blankets for her loved ones – to include injured troops at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, DC. Tony and Charlotte were life-members of the Rocky Mountain National Park, where they hiked and picnicked with family and friends. The Besson couple cooked favorite recipes together. They happily shared traditional Swiss fondue dinners in their rustic mountain cabin which Tony had renovated like a Swiss chalet. Charlotte enjoyed downhill skiing, leisurely car trips to Santa Fe with Tony, and embarking on an Alaskan Cruise with family and friends. Multilingual, Charlotte spoke her native Schweitzer Deutsch, as well as German, Italian, French and English. She was a member of the Estes Park German-American Club. She could be counted on as a French tutor, hospice volunteer, and library kindergarten reader. As a Catholic convert, Charlotte became a parishioner of Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church in Estes Park.
Charlotte was preceded in death by her parents, husband, sister and daughter Anne Therese (Alan) Stout. She is survived by her sons Col. Paul (Marguerite Ann) Besson, USAF-Retired, and Dr. Luca (Penelope) Merlini; her grandchildren Lucia (Mauro) Merlini Sala, Dr. Andrea (Isabella) Merlini, Capt. David Besson, USAF-Reserve, Dr. Christopher Stout, and Rachel (John) Stout Faller; and her great-grandchildren Gabriele and Lorenzo Merlini, Tristan and Wyatt Faller, and Amy Sala.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Good Samaritan Society – Estes Park Village, c/o Ms. Brooks Lloyd, 1901 Ptarmigan Trail, Estes Park, CO 80517
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