Chara Alene Johnstone

She is survived by her 3 children, Jacob Keegan Cunningham, 23, Lucas Ramon Johnstone, 21 and Micah Annessa Rae Johnstone, 18; her mother, Cyndi Stedman, her sister, Chandra Neal-Schutte, her nephews Devon and Ryan Schutte, her sister Mikala Neal and brother Michael Neal.

Chara was born in San Jose, CA on July 20, 1979, to parents Cyndi and Mark Neal. She was quite a stubborn child. Her mom would call her “my humbling experience”. Her older sister, Chandra, named her. It was a compromise from her parent’s ideas of Charon or Cara. And no one reading her name would pronounce it correctly.

When she was 6, she moved with her mom and sister to Kent, WA and lived there for 5 years until her mom’s work moved the family to Valencia, CA. Once she was in high school, her beautiful voice lent her to sing in the concert choir. She graduated with the class of 1997 from Wm. S Hart High School.

In 1998, she became a mama to Jacob. He was a precious boy who was almost born in the backseat of his Aunt’s car on the way to the birthing center. Soon after, she moved to Oceanside, CA where she would live the rest of her life. She met and briefly married a Marine and had 2 more beautiful children, Lucas in 2000 and Micah in 2003. Her joy was being a mom to her kids.

She had a tender heart, that was a special gift of hers. Chara was extremely close with her family. She remained best friends with her mom her entire life. She also opened her heart and arms to her friends. She was loyal and cared deeply for them. No matter your walk of life, she would bring you in and listen to you and let you know how important you were to her. She was also involved with her congregation at Pillar Church of Oceanside. They have been so supportive in holding up her family during this time.

Some fun facts about Chara, she was a published poet, she would easily cry at any moving commercial or movie, she loved vibrant and eclectic clothing and jewelry, she could sing with her mouth closed and she loved shrimp quesadillas.

She was a special woman who impacted more people’s lives than she realized. Her family and friends miss her deeply. Her children will have to learn to navigate this world without her there, physically. As long as she is remembered, her spirit will live on.

A celebration of Chara’s life will be held on

March 12th, 2022 at 2 p.m. at Generation Church.

1106 Whaley St. Oceanside, CA 92054.

If you would like to help contribute to the expenses that Chara’s kids will need to manage,

please use link below:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/charas-medical-bills-potential-funeral-costs?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cp%20share-sheet&fbclid=IwAR2AL4PE6W4D-SgaXhhf8hHVS8OrBYUMUy-BAkIvOm5ehb2p49tA7OJuIYQ