Charlotte Daar - June 26, 1921-September 21, 2022, 101 years old.

Survived by children, Melissa and Judy, Randy, niece Jane; grandchildren, Noah, Mitchell, Violet, Alan, Tomas, Samuel, Alex.

Charlotte was born in Brooklyn, New York to an immigrant father, a NYC electrician who installed the first electricity into the homes of many family members and friends. Her mother was American born, and high school educated.

Charlotte went to Erasmus High, gained her teaching credential at Brooklyn College and helped raise her brother Alan whom she loved dearly. After college, she taught English at Far Rockaway High School and Midwood High school.

When she arrived at Midwood she attended a teachers union meeting led by Phil Daar, who immediately noticed the new teacher without a ring on her finger. By the time the other bachelors noticed her, he had already asked her out!

By the following summer they were engaged and got married in the Adirondacks, where Phil owned a summer camp. Two years later, the couple moved to the modern “suburb” of Queens, with Phil’s three kids in tow, Frank, Stephen and Judy, who had survived the loss of their mother.

Charlotte finished raising those kids, raised the two more that came along, and went back to school, and became public school librarian working in John Adams High School in Queens. There, Charlotte spearheaded the introduction of computers into NYC’s school libraries.

Charlotte was active in the NYC’s teachers union, organizing support for public school libraries within the union and beyond. She is remembered for many post-dinner kitchen counter phone calls – talking to other librarians trying to make sure library positions and librarians were maintained in New York City public schools. Charlotte also marched in Washington, DC many a time, in support of the civil rights movement and against the Vietnam war.

After retiring, Charlotte moved to the West Coast to be closer to some of her family. An avid tennis player – she played doubles well into her 80’s. She became a competitive A-group bridge whiz, her strategic acumen and competitive spirit not a surprise to her kids. She also became a die-hard Warriors fan, with a special regard for Stephen Curry, who leads his team with a humble and joyful grace much like her lead in the family.

But her real love of all, besides her family, was her love of literature. She kept a card file for every book she ever read discussing the contents and carefully filed like the librarian she was. Charlotte continued to read vociferously until two months before her death. Never a light reader, she was known for recommending books that were not “summer reading.”

Charlotte was married to Phil for 53 ears - and they were deeply in love. They travelled, raised kids. They loved New York City and dance, music, theater. They supported Israel and Jewish religious and cultural traditions.

For the last 20 years, Charlotte was a close and inspiring guide to her family in their studies, work and life, especially the family’s youngest adults, who treasured their grandmother.