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Charlotte Mae Johnson Toulouse died at the age of 84 on March 15, 2005 at the family residence surrounded by her children and grandchildren. Charlotte was born in Marysville, KS on September 8, 1920 to Charlotte and Henry Johnson. She moved to Albuquerque as a teenager to stay with an aunt and uncle because of her asthma. As a freshman at UNM at the State Fair she met her future husband, James R. Toulouse. She and Jim were married on August 29, 1941. After WWII they lived in Washington, DC while Jim attended Georgetown Law School. They returned to Albuquerque in 1949 to make their home. She was preceded in death in 2002 by her husband of 60 years, Jim. She was also preceded in death by her two infant sons; her mother; sisters, Mary Elizabeth Ogilvie, Margaret Tilton; and her brother, John R. Johnson; and just last month by her sister-in-law, Betty Johnson. She is survived by her daughters, Carmie Lynn Toulouse, Charlotte Mary Toulouse and Robert R. Secrest, Laura Megah and Ben Megah, Samantha Schwack and Art Schwack, and Leigh Toulouse; her grandchildren, Jeremy Toulouse and Jenny Toulouse, Tamaya Toulouse and Ivan Wiener, Trent Toulouse, James McAnally, Kimberly Megah Baca, and Brook Megah; her great-grandchildren, Victoria Baca and Christian Toulouse; and her nieces and nephews, Mary Tilton, Malinda Dempsey, Lesley Salazar, James Johnson, Elaine Clanon, Everett Ogilvie, Chip Ogilvie, Patricia Toulouse, and Fred Armstrong; and a host of wonderful friends statewide. Charlotte was a beautiful person inside and out, always comforting those who needed it; right up until her last breath she was telling her family she was not afraid and they should not be either. She was a longtime leader in the community in PTA, the Governor's Committee on Children and Youth, a member of the Disability and Health Program Advisory Committee, and the Statewide Independent Living Counsel, an active member in the Democratic Party, attending three National Conventions, and a long standing member of the State Central Committee. When she had young children she lobbied for the rights of children; as her five daughters grew she lobbied for the New Mexico Equal Rights Amendment, and after a stroke 18 years ago left her using a walker, she became an outspoken advocate for the rights of the disabled and the elderly. In 1993 she and Jim were honored when they received the "Keep the Dream Alive" awarded by the Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Celebration Committee; in 1997 she was picked as one of UNM's outstanding alumni, and the Southwest Conference on Disability in 2000 established "The Charlotte Toulouse Award for Contributions to Communication Between People With Disabilities and Disability Researchers." A celebration of her life will be held on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 at First Presbyterian Church, 215 Locust NE (1 block NW of Central and I-25) at 2:00 p.m. with the Rev. Dr. Paul Debenport performing the service. A reception will follow at the church courtesy of the Deacons. Cremation has already taken place under the direction of Sunrise Funeral Options. Contributions in Charlotte's name can be made to TVI Foundation, Scholarship Fund 525 Buena Vista SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106 or The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 120 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005, Attn: Donations. On behalf of our Mother, continue to speak out on issues that need to change.
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