Charlotte R. McCown

Mrs. Charlotte “Betty” Rankin McCown died Saturday, October 8, 2016, in the company of her loving children at her home in Springfield, Virginia. She was preceded in death by her husband Lt. Col. Thomas Henry McCown, Jr.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she spent most of her childhood in New Concord and Bloomfield, Ohio, when her family moved back to the family homestead during the years of the Great Depression. After graduating from high school during World War II she began a government career as a general office clerk taking posts in such places as post war Germany and Arizona, before taking a position at Wright Patterson AF Base in Dayton Ohio. It was there that she met and married Captain Thomas Henry McCown, Jr., and three children soon followed.

Eventually Betty returned to work, first in Defense Logistics at Fort Belvoir, and later for the Department of the Army at the Pentagon. She was the secretary for several generals and colonels, a position that made full use of her impressive organizational skills. She also went back to college and received an Associate’s Degree in General Science at Northern Virginia Community College, where she discovered and developed a keen interest in geology.

Betty had a passion for craft shows, art, classical music, musicals, and opera. Always an avid reader, she also enjoyed book signings and listening to writers speak about their books. She read the daily Washington Post up to the week preceding her death.

Betty kept up with her activities and her many acts of generosity in her retirement. At her church, the Presbyterian Women bestowed the Honorary Life Membership on her in 2015. She was a member of Mary Martha Circle, and the Book Club. She regularly attended both worship and Church School. She was often busy in her quiet way working behind the scenes to prepare the Communion elements, provide rides to church members who no longer were able to drive, and proofreading the church newsletter as well as many of the adult church school courses created by our librarian. She was the first to volunteer when help was needed and contributed generously to mission projects.

Betty is survived by her three children, Thomas McCown and his wife Theresa, Robert McCown, and Barbara McCown-McClintick and her husband John; her grandchildren Molly McCown, Thomas “Mike” McCown and his wife Sarah Ortner, Jordan McCown, Merie McCown, Laura Jean McClintick and Matthew McClintick, and her great-grandchildren Andrea, Elizabeth, and Everly.

A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, October 29, 2016, at 12:30 PM at First Presbyterian Church of Annandale, 7610 Newcastle Drive, Annandale, Virginia. Interment will be at a future date at Arlington Cemetery.