Sister Marilyn Charette SP
December 28, 1940 - October 10, 2023
Obituary
Marilyn Charette, SP (Sister Marilyn)
Sister Marilyn Charette, age 82, a Sister of Providence for 58 years, died October 10, 2023 at Providence Holy Cross Trauma Center, Burbank, Calif. Vigil: Thursday, October 26, 2023, 3:00 pm, at St. Joseph Residence, 4800 37th Ave SW, Seattle, Wash. Funeral Mass: Saturday, October 28, 2023, 2:00 pm at St. Finbar Church, 2010 W. Olive Ave, Burbank, Calif. Valley Funeral Home (Burbank) and Bonney Watson Funeral Home (Seattle) are overseeing arrangements.
Sister Marilyn was born on December 28, 1940, in Schenectady, New York to Edmond and Mary (Emerich) Charette, the second of seven children. In 1947, her family moved to Richland, Wash. when her father’s job with General Electric was transferred. In Richland, her family lived in a small house facing the beautiful Columbia River, which became their playground; boating, waterskiing, and making forts out of tumbleweeds.
In 1958, Sister Marilyn graduated high school from Columbia High School in Richland, and then attended Holy Names College in Spokane to study biology and chemistry to become a medical technologist, graduating in 1962.
The seed of a vocation in religious life was growing in Sister Marilyn since her childhood. As she continued to discern her spirituality, it became clear to her she was called to religious life. She entered the Sisters of Providence community in 1964, receiving Final Vows in 1976.
Sister Marilyn ministered for many years in hospitals in Yakima, Everett and Portland as a Medical Technologist, in the admissions office, patient transport, as a volunteer and a chaplain. In 1995, Sister Marilyn and four other Sisters of Providence began a mission in El Salvador to minister in many rural communities. This mission continues to this day. After returning from El Salvador in 1999, Sister Marilyn became a member of the religious community’s formation team, as a novitiate team member and candidate director. She always extensively volunteered in her parish and in areas of need in the community.
Sister Marilyn was grateful for her many opportunities and the enduring support from her religious community. She felt being a Sister of Providence was a way of life, following in the footsteps of Jesus, being a dedicated, loving person with priority for the poor and marginalized.
She is preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her sisters, Margaret Koner, Yvonne Plahuta, and Catherine Carbaugh; brothers, Edmond Charette, Dr. Richard Charette, MD, and Paul Charette and many beloved nieces and nephews, and by the Sisters in her community.
To view Sister Marilyn’s obituary and picture and to sign her memory book, please visit websites for Bonney-Watson Funeral Home at www.bonneywatson.com or Valley Funeral Home at www.valleyfuneralhomeburbank.com
God Bless you for giving your life to serving God’s people. I am sure you are now dancing with the Angels.
I enjoyed my time meeting and being with Sr. Marilyn when she temporarily came back to Richland to care for her mother. She was always working on ways to help folks-in the US and foreign countries. She had a special knowledge of the workings people who were involved in sex trafficking. Her work in El Salvador was especially dangerous. But it didn’t stop her and her fellow sisters for being there for the people. I feel honored to have crossed paths with her. She will be missed.
You love an friendship reached so many through your years of service to our Lord. You were a amazing example to so many. You and Yvonne and really your entire family shared good times with the Allens growing up. Thank you for your friendship to my mother through the years, your love and prayers helped all of us. My hope is you are now with the angels-give my folks a hug for me!
I only encountered Sister Marilyn briefly, but have such fondness for her. Sending prayers for her and her family.
As a cousin of Sr Marilyn, she set the bar very high in kindness, commitment and friendship. She was a special person who lived what she believed, a shining example of goodness to us all.
As a Providence Associate, I appreciate Sr. Marilyn’s Love and Compassion for all people. She will be missed in the Burbank Community. She is watching over us all from her Home in Heaven with Jesus. God Bless her family and all the Sister of Providence