Charlene Lynne Momeyer (Thomas) “graduated” to everlasting life in heaven at age 73 in Phoenix, Arizona on July 11, 2020 due to complications from PCA, a variant of Alzheimer’s Disease. Charlene (Char) was born on July 12, 1946 in Needles, California during the boom of the Santa Fe Railroad.
She spent her youth swimming and water skiing on the Colorado river, twirling batons of fire as the Majorette of the Needles High School Marching Band (graduating class of 1964) and singing in various school and church choirs.
Char went on to San Bernardino Valley College (CA) and Graceland College (IA) before moving back to the Phoenix area and working in the hospitality industry in Carefree, AZ. Char married and started her family. She lived in Indiana, Hawaii and Arizona. Char later re-married but spent most of her adult life as a devoted, single parent.
She built an administrative career in Phoenix’s health care industry working for Good Samaritan Hospital, TriWest, and later retiring from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona in 2013. Some of her work involved negotiating life-saving contracts, allowing military/veteran families to get organ transplants.
Char was active living out her faith by volunteering within Scottsdale Bible Church’s Music and Youth Ministries (’88-’98) as well as at Christ’s Church of the Valley’s (Peoria) “Where Teen Moms Meet” (a mentoring, aid and educational program for teen mothers) and the church’s Bereavement Ministry Team (‘01-‘18). Char had a generous and caring heart. She supported many charities as well as individuals in need. She donated her time helping The Salvation Army Metro Phoenix with their annual back-to-school and Christmas drives each year. She supported ABDF, a small non-profit that helped people in Sri Lanka rebuild their lives after the tsunami of 2004 and improve living conditions for years afterward.
She was a faithful supporter of NewThing.net, a small non-profit for the needy in Belarus. Finally, she gave her grandchildren the gift of giving by letting them pick out clean water sources, chicks, food supplies and toys for international children’s needs, which she then paid for through WorldVision.org. She relished leading discussions about giving back with the next generation in our family.
Char had great endurance for both life’s trials and physical activity. At age 63, she reinvented herself and amazed us all by completing her first half-marathon in under 3 hours (her goal time). She is the only person in our family to have accomplished this to-date.
Her hallmark accomplishment however lies in her resolute strength and courage to break a cycle of child abuse so that her children and grandchildren would never bear this darkness, as she had.
Char is survived by her children Michael Momeyer (Terri) and Stacey Kunnari (Brian) as well as her grandchildren Nathan, Tabitha, Elyse and Presley. She further leaves behind niece, Vicki Allmeyer (Jim) and great-niece and nephew, Austin and Lauren along with her “chosen sister”, Becky Heckel (Roger). She is preceded in death by her beloved Mother, Nettie Evelyn Thomas, and her sister, Marsha Thomas.
Char’s laugh, touch, willingness to ham it up for a laugh, dedication to pulling over for ice-cream and doing flips off the pool diving board (even in to her 70’s) will be missed. As her Son, Michael, stated, “…There was never a more dedicated mother or steadfast friend”.
Char has graduated to a higher-understanding and to a perfect love (which casts out all fear; I John 4:18), with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Commencement means “to mark the beginning of a new life in a new world”. A small, family, Celebration of Life/Commencement Ceremony (with concurrent remote, zoom streaming for all), will be held in Char’s honor on September 26, 2020 at 10:30am at CCV Peoria: 7007 W Happy Valley Road, Peoria 85383; building 400.
She spent her youth swimming and water skiing on the Colorado river, twirling batons of fire as the Majorette of the Needles High School Marching Band (graduating class of 1964) and singing in various school and church choirs.
Char went on to San Bernardino Valley College (CA) and Graceland College (IA) before moving back to the Phoenix area and working in the hospitality industry in Carefree, AZ. Char married and started her family. She lived in Indiana, Hawaii and Arizona. Char later re-married but spent most of her adult life as a devoted, single parent.
She built an administrative career in Phoenix’s health care industry working for Good Samaritan Hospital, TriWest, and later retiring from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona in 2013. Some of her work involved negotiating life-saving contracts, allowing military/veteran families to get organ transplants.
Char was active living out her faith by volunteering within Scottsdale Bible Church’s Music and Youth Ministries (’88-’98) as well as at Christ’s Church of the Valley’s (Peoria) “Where Teen Moms Meet” (a mentoring, aid and educational program for teen mothers) and the church’s Bereavement Ministry Team (‘01-‘18). Char had a generous and caring heart. She supported many charities as well as individuals in need. She donated her time helping The Salvation Army Metro Phoenix with their annual back-to-school and Christmas drives each year. She supported ABDF, a small non-profit that helped people in Sri Lanka rebuild their lives after the tsunami of 2004 and improve living conditions for years afterward.
She was a faithful supporter of NewThing.net, a small non-profit for the needy in Belarus. Finally, she gave her grandchildren the gift of giving by letting them pick out clean water sources, chicks, food supplies and toys for international children’s needs, which she then paid for through WorldVision.org. She relished leading discussions about giving back with the next generation in our family.
Char had great endurance for both life’s trials and physical activity. At age 63, she reinvented herself and amazed us all by completing her first half-marathon in under 3 hours (her goal time). She is the only person in our family to have accomplished this to-date.
Her hallmark accomplishment however lies in her resolute strength and courage to break a cycle of child abuse so that her children and grandchildren would never bear this darkness, as she had.
Char is survived by her children Michael Momeyer (Terri) and Stacey Kunnari (Brian) as well as her grandchildren Nathan, Tabitha, Elyse and Presley. She further leaves behind niece, Vicki Allmeyer (Jim) and great-niece and nephew, Austin and Lauren along with her “chosen sister”, Becky Heckel (Roger). She is preceded in death by her beloved Mother, Nettie Evelyn Thomas, and her sister, Marsha Thomas.
Char’s laugh, touch, willingness to ham it up for a laugh, dedication to pulling over for ice-cream and doing flips off the pool diving board (even in to her 70’s) will be missed. As her Son, Michael, stated, “…There was never a more dedicated mother or steadfast friend”.
Char has graduated to a higher-understanding and to a perfect love (which casts out all fear; I John 4:18), with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Commencement means “to mark the beginning of a new life in a new world”. A small, family, Celebration of Life/Commencement Ceremony (with concurrent remote, zoom streaming for all), will be held in Char’s honor on September 26, 2020 at 10:30am at CCV Peoria: 7007 W Happy Valley Road, Peoria 85383; building 400.
Charlene Lynne Momeyer (Thomas) “graduated” to everlasting life in heaven at age 73 in Phoenix, Arizona on July 11, 2020 due to complications from PCA, a variant of Alzheimer’s Disease. Charlene (Char) was born on July 12, 1946 in Needles, California during the boom of the Santa Fe Railroad.
She spent her youth swimming and water skiing on the Colorado river, twirling batons of fire as the Majorette of the Needles High School Marching Band (graduating class of 1964) and singing in various school and church choirs.
Char went on to San Bernardino Valley College (CA) and Graceland College (IA) before moving back to the Phoenix area and working in the hospitality industry in Carefree, AZ. Char married and started her family. She lived in Indiana, Hawaii and Arizona. Char later re-married but spent most of her adult life as a devoted, single parent.
She built an administrative career in Phoenix’s health care industry working for Good Samaritan Hospital, TriWest, and later retiring from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona in 2013. Some of her work involved negotiating life-saving contracts, allowing military/veteran families to get organ transplants.
Char was active living out her faith by volunteering within Scottsdale Bible Church’s Music and Youth Ministries (’88-’98) as well as at Christ’s Church of the Valley’s (Peoria) “Where Teen Moms Meet” (a mentoring, aid and educational program for teen mothers) and the church’s Bereavement Ministry Team (‘01-‘18). Char had a generous and caring heart. She supported many charities as well as individuals in need. She donated her time helping The Salvation Army Metro Phoenix with their annual back-to-school and Christmas drives each year. She supported ABDF, a small non-profit that helped people in Sri Lanka rebuild their lives after the tsunami of 2004 and improve living conditions for years afterward.
She was a faithful supporter of NewThing.net, a small non-profit for the needy in Belarus. Finally, she gave her grandchildren the gift of giving by letting them pick out clean water sources, chicks, food supplies and toys for international children’s needs, which she then paid for through WorldVision.org. She relished leading discussions about giving back with the next generation in our family.
Char had great endurance for both life’s trials and physical activity. At age 63, she reinvented herself and amazed us all by completing her first half-marathon in under 3 hours (her goal time). She is the only person in our family to have accomplished this to-date.
Her hallmark accomplishment however lies in her resolute strength and courage to break a cycle of child abuse so that her children and grandchildren would never bear this darkness, as she had.
Char is survived by her children Michael Momeyer (Terri) and Stacey Kunnari (Brian) as well as her grandchildren Nathan, Tabitha, Elyse and Presley. She further leaves behind niece, Vicki Allmeyer (Jim) and great-niece and nephew, Austin and Lauren along with her “chosen sister”, Becky Heckel (Roger). She is preceded in death by her beloved Mother, Nettie Evelyn Thomas, and her sister, Marsha Thomas.
Char’s laugh, touch, willingness to ham it up for a laugh, dedication to pulling over for ice-cream and doing flips off the pool diving board (even in to her 70’s) will be missed. As her Son, Michael, stated, “…There was never a more dedicated mother or steadfast friend”.
Char has graduated to a higher-understanding and to a perfect love (which casts out all fear; I John 4:18), with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Commencement means “to mark the beginning of a new life in a new world”. A small, family, Celebration of Life/Commencement Ceremony (with concurrent remote, zoom streaming for all), will be held in Char’s honor on September 26, 2020 at 10:30am at CCV Peoria: 7007 W Happy Valley Road, Peoria 85383; building 400.
She spent her youth swimming and water skiing on the Colorado river, twirling batons of fire as the Majorette of the Needles High School Marching Band (graduating class of 1964) and singing in various school and church choirs.
Char went on to San Bernardino Valley College (CA) and Graceland College (IA) before moving back to the Phoenix area and working in the hospitality industry in Carefree, AZ. Char married and started her family. She lived in Indiana, Hawaii and Arizona. Char later re-married but spent most of her adult life as a devoted, single parent.
She built an administrative career in Phoenix’s health care industry working for Good Samaritan Hospital, TriWest, and later retiring from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona in 2013. Some of her work involved negotiating life-saving contracts, allowing military/veteran families to get organ transplants.
Char was active living out her faith by volunteering within Scottsdale Bible Church’s Music and Youth Ministries (’88-’98) as well as at Christ’s Church of the Valley’s (Peoria) “Where Teen Moms Meet” (a mentoring, aid and educational program for teen mothers) and the church’s Bereavement Ministry Team (‘01-‘18). Char had a generous and caring heart. She supported many charities as well as individuals in need. She donated her time helping The Salvation Army Metro Phoenix with their annual back-to-school and Christmas drives each year. She supported ABDF, a small non-profit that helped people in Sri Lanka rebuild their lives after the tsunami of 2004 and improve living conditions for years afterward.
She was a faithful supporter of NewThing.net, a small non-profit for the needy in Belarus. Finally, she gave her grandchildren the gift of giving by letting them pick out clean water sources, chicks, food supplies and toys for international children’s needs, which she then paid for through WorldVision.org. She relished leading discussions about giving back with the next generation in our family.
Char had great endurance for both life’s trials and physical activity. At age 63, she reinvented herself and amazed us all by completing her first half-marathon in under 3 hours (her goal time). She is the only person in our family to have accomplished this to-date.
Her hallmark accomplishment however lies in her resolute strength and courage to break a cycle of child abuse so that her children and grandchildren would never bear this darkness, as she had.
Char is survived by her children Michael Momeyer (Terri) and Stacey Kunnari (Brian) as well as her grandchildren Nathan, Tabitha, Elyse and Presley. She further leaves behind niece, Vicki Allmeyer (Jim) and great-niece and nephew, Austin and Lauren along with her “chosen sister”, Becky Heckel (Roger). She is preceded in death by her beloved Mother, Nettie Evelyn Thomas, and her sister, Marsha Thomas.
Char’s laugh, touch, willingness to ham it up for a laugh, dedication to pulling over for ice-cream and doing flips off the pool diving board (even in to her 70’s) will be missed. As her Son, Michael, stated, “…There was never a more dedicated mother or steadfast friend”.
Char has graduated to a higher-understanding and to a perfect love (which casts out all fear; I John 4:18), with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Commencement means “to mark the beginning of a new life in a new world”. A small, family, Celebration of Life/Commencement Ceremony (with concurrent remote, zoom streaming for all), will be held in Char’s honor on September 26, 2020 at 10:30am at CCV Peoria: 7007 W Happy Valley Road, Peoria 85383; building 400.
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