Charlotte Barnes Crites

Charlotte Barnes Crites, of Mount Sterling, passed peacefully into eternal life on November 7, 2024, surrounded by her loving daughters. Born December 16, 1944, to the late John and Dorothy Barnes of Mount Sterling, Charlotte enjoyed an idyllic childhood on her parents’ farm near Deer Creek. She valued crafting, cooking, and 4-H projects with her mother, spending time with her daddy at the stockyards and horse barns, and creating (mostly) innocent mischief with her siblings. She was blessed with loving and upright parents who treasured their petite, delightful Charlotte Sue.

She graduated from The Plains High School in 1962 and was a member of the band. She received a degree in education from Otterbein College and a master’s degree from Mount St. Joseph University.

Charlotte began her teaching career at the Madison-Plains Local School District where she met and quickly fell in love with her future husband Kelley. Together, they raised five willful and independent daughters in the house in which she was raised, and pointedly required them to be steadfastly devoted to each other without exception.

She worked over thirty years with the Westfall Local School District and Pickaway-Ross Educational Service Center, instructing in home economics and life skills. Charlotte joked that she “never left middle school” but she immeasurably contributed to the welfare of her adolescent students in their most delicate years, teaching them to sew a button or pillow, make cookies and casseroles, balance a checkbook, care for children, and know their value as individuals.

She spent summers with her daughters at their cottage at the Lancaster Methodist Camp Ground, where she led them and others to Christ, taught bible school, and served on the board of directors. She was a longtime, faithful member of the First United Methodist Church of Mount Sterling, taught bible and Sunday school, worked tirelessly in the church kitchen, served on various committees, and supported the church’s ministries with her time, talents, and treasures.

Charlotte was quick-witted, bright, charismatic, and charming. Unfailingly practical and pragmatic, Charlotte was affectionately direct with those she cared for and about. She was highly regarded for her unparalleled creativity and craftsmanship, which she used to coordinate the Dolly & Me tea parties to benefit the Mount Sterling Community Center. She loved taking short adventurous trips with her daughters and friends. In her later years, she delighted in her role as grandmother, teaching her grandchildren special skills that suited their individual strengths.

In addition to her parents, she was joyously welcomed to eternal life by her husband Kelley Lee Crites, for whom she was heartsick since his passing in 2019. Of all her earthly accomplishments, Charlotte was most proud of her daughters and grandchildren who survive her: Lee Anne (Brian) Lanigan of London and grandchildren, Clay Carroll, Tara (David) Mounts, and Erin Charlotte (Cole) Carnick; Susie (Dan) Berry of Mount Sterling and grandchildren, Lindy (Travis) Shaw, Danny (Sydney) Berry, and great-granddaughters, Ryann Kelley and River Shaw; Gerry (Cary) Furniss of Lebanon and grandchildren, David, Dorothy (Scott) Roney, and Donald Furniss; Karen Crites of Mount Sterling and grandchildren, Joseph Kelley, Rebecca, and John Crites; and Kathleen (Thomas) Madden of Mount Sterling and grandsons, Paul Kelley, Patrick, Tommy, and James Madden.

Charlotte is also survived by her sister Grace (Gary) Wiley of Marengo and brother John (Ruth) Barnes Jr. of Mount Sterling, as well as cousins, nieces, nephews, former colleagues and students, and special lifelong friend Barbara Towler.

A service in honor of Charlotte’s life and tea party in celebration of her eightieth birthday will be held at the First United Methodist Church of Mount Sterling on Sunday, December 15, 2024, at 2 p.m. The family requests donations be made to the Madison-Plains Scholarship Foundation and directed to the Kelley Crites Memorial Mathematics Scholarship, 12460 Fralick Rd., South Solon, Ohio 43153. 

Please visit www.portertiddfuneralhome.com to share your favorite memories and to send your condolences to the Crites family.