Beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend to many, Charlotte Morgan Lovekin was allowed to die peacefully on February 14, 2022, after suffering a severe cerebral hemorrhage earlier in the weekend. Her husband and five adult children were able to gather at her bedside to say goodbye before life support was removed.

She was born in New York City on January 17th, 1944, to Charlotte Morgan Murphy and William Jeremiah Murphy, and raised there and in New Canaan, Connecticut, graduating from Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York, with a degree in European History. While still in college, she was married, and over the next several years she and her husband had three children: Michael, Amanda and Patrick Casey. However, their marriage ended in divorce; and some years later she married Howard Pokorny, with whom she had one child, Ali-Shaun. Howard Pokorny re-located his family for work to Houston, Texas in 1985, where he suffered an untimely death in 1992.

During the years following her marriage to Howard, Charlotte engaged in an examination of the faith into which she was born. In Houston she pursued Rite of Catholic Initiation for Adults (RCIA) and found a faith home at the Newman Catholic Student Center serving the Texas Medical Center and Rice University. There she encountered a youthful and vibrant faith community supported by adults from the immediate neighborhood and beyond, and rekindled her faith in Christ through the Roman Catholic Church.

In 1993 she met Charles Lovekin at work, and after an intense romance they were married in October, 1994. Although unable to conceive, they began the process of adoption from China, and during that time moved to Vashon Island in 1998 in order to be near family. There she and Charles found a new faith family at St. John Vianney Catholic Church, where she became involved in teaching faith formation and Charles served the music ministry by playing piano and organ and singing in the choir. Daughter Jingyi came home with them from China in 1999.

The years following were her happiest. Charlotte and Charles did almost everything together, leaving a lasting impression on friends and family of their mutual love. Charlotte embraced Vashon Island and developed strong friendships and associations there. There also she gradually developed a simpler and more trusting faith, never forgetting the road she had traveled to have it. She and Charles prayed the Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy daily together when they would go for their usual walk around Burton loop; and she loved to work in her garden and to host family and friends in her beautiful home. In later years she joined the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

Beginning in 2018, Charlotte and Charles split their time between Vashon Island and a second home that they purchased in Houston. Even with the restrictions of the pandemic over the last two years, Charlotte made concerted efforts to stay connected and engaged with her faith, her family and friends spread across the country. She remained close to her children throughout her life and had loving relations with her grandchildren. She is survived by her beloved husband Charles and by her five children, Michael, Amanda, Patrick Casey, Ali-Shaun and Jingyi; her six grandchildren, Max, Justin, Aidan, Liam, Anderson and Abigail; and by her sisters, Maureen Aba, Jeri Gordon and Mary Pat Slater.

A memorial for Charlotte’s life will take place in Houston on Thursday, March 3rd, at 12:00 noon (Central Time), at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, 6622 Haskell St., 77007. The service may be live-streamed by linking to the church’s website: https://www.sttheresa. cc/funerals-1.

Her funeral will take place on Vashon Island at St. John Vianney Catholic Church, on Saturday April 23rd, followed by interment at Vashon Cemetery.