Charlotte Fulton Townsend

CHARLOTTE F. TOWNSEND

1925-2022

Storyteller. Joke teller. Hostess. Porsche racer.

Sailor. Explorer. Skier. Gardener. Lifetime Learner.

Harrison Memorial Library Board member.

Carmel Area Wastewater District Board member.

Mayor of her beloved City of Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Charlotte Fulton Townsend was all of the above. The Townsend family came to Carmel in the early 1930’s when Carmel was a young city, incorporated less than nine years before Charlotte’s birth in Tacoma, Washington, on February 21, 1925. The family found an abundance of friends and opportunities for civic engagement in their new hometown---community theater, politics, equestrian, tennis, the Girl Scouts.

Charlotte died on the night of October 31 at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. She was predeceased by her parents, Frank and Ruth, and her sister, Donna. She is survived by nephew Christopher Zuber, her caregiver Alejandra Sanchez, and decades of now-mourning friends. She had attended the Douglas School in Pebble Beach, Stanford University, Universities of Zurich and Heidelberg as well as the Sorbonne.

Her parents involvement in early Carmel-by-the-Sea cultural and civic activities became a lifetime compass for Charlotte, a city she called home for most of the nine decades of her life. She had the distinction of being the only staff member reporting for the rivals Carmel Pine Cone and the Carmel Cymbal. She rendered service on the Harrison Memorial Library Board of Trustees and as an elected director of the Carmel Area Wastewater District, a position her father had previously held. She was the Carmel Residents Association “Citizen of the Year” in 2019. She served as mayor of her beloved Carmel-by-the-Sea from 1982-86.

Forty years after her mayoral election, few remember the projects and programs she and her council initiated but the results of those actions still mingle amongst us. The first major renovation and expansion of City Hall since its municipal acquisition from the All Saints parish in 1947 commenced in 1984. The winter storms of 1982-83 damaged the embankments of Carmel Beach and undermined a portion of Scenic Road. Charlotte appointed the Beach Task Force to develop a plan for the fortification of the bluffs and roadway. From the task force blossomed the concept for the Scenic Road pathway, a project she enthusiastically endorsed.

One day as mayor she was telling a story about the long forgotten downtown pet parade. Charlotte had the thought to start a new parade for the children of the village and to acknowledge the incorporation of Carmel-by-the-Sea as a city on October 31, 1916. The annual Halloween parade began in 1984 and continues. It is probably more than coincidence that with her long love affair with the village, and her enthusiasm for celebrating Halloween, that she should die on that day.

Piccadilly Park, the first public open space in Carmel’s downtown since the creation of Devendorf Park in 1932, developed during her tenure. The City’s first General Plan that was compliant with the State Planning Act was adopted during her time as mayor. The wood direction signs around the village were crafted and installed during her term.

A strong-willed woman, she was opinionated as well as adventuresome, frequently telling stories of her Porsche racing in Europe and sailing a leaking boat to Hawaii. At 90 years, she took a freighter to the South Pacific. She loved France and went frequently to her Chateau de la France outside of Chablis.

Her friends were her family. She held frequent gatherings at her home where a meal always began with a toast to all gathered and ended with a comment of how fortunate she was to live in Carmel-by-the-Sea. During the meal, she would tell off-color jokes as well as opine on current events. She never appeared at any social event of a friend empty-handed, usually bringing a bouquet from her garden.

She loved her garden and its flowers; she loved her hometown. As she settled into the Mayor’s chair at the beginning of each city council meeting over which she presided, she would position a small vase holding a few garden cuttings at her place on the dais and was heard to say “a touch of Old Carmel.”

Memorial donations are suggested to the donor’s favorite charity.