Charlotte N. Pelletier

Charlotte N. PelletierCharlotte Nute Pelletier, 87, a long-time resident of Sanford and more recently, of Huntington Commons in Kennebunk died at Southern Maine Medical Center on Tuesday, December 9. She had suffered a stroke this past Friday.Charlotte was born on November 1, 1921, in Union, NH, the daughter of Harry and Helen (Wadleigh) Nute. Her roots in southern New Hampshire were deep, extending 10 generations, through a close knit and loving family of farmers and storytellers. Her childhood was spent in Farmington, NH, and she attended Farmington schools. She graduated from Wheaton College in Norton, MA in 1943 and joined the war effort. In Washington, DC, she joined other young women in the Venona Project at Arlington Hall, helping to decode intercepted Japanese and Russian intelligence messages. In 1945, she signed on with the Red Cross and sailed to Marseilles on the Queen Elizabeth and served for two years in France and Germany. She returned to the U.S. in 1947 and began teaching elementary school, first in Derry, NH and then in Saugus, MA and Shapleigh, ME. In June of 1952 she married Robert G. Pelletier of Sanford. Charlotte was active in a variety of community affairs in Sanford, serving as a director of the Sanford Community Health Association and a long-time director of the Goodall Library.Charlotte was a voracious reader, a companionable (and shrewd) card and cribbage player, and a person to whom people gravitated. She was kind-hearted, easy going, and took delight in others' joys. More than anything, she was a wonderful mother, who gave her three children the great gift of both roots and wings. Her children and extended family adored her. She is survived by her children;Thomas Pelletier and his wife, Heidi, of Montpelier, VT; Andrew Pelletier of Augusta; and Helen Pelletier and her husband John Spritz of Portland. She is also survived by her loving grandchildren-James, Sam, and Alice Pelletier and Charlotte and Henry Spritz; her brother and sister-in-law, Eugene and Patricia Nute of Farmington, NH; her sister Rhoda Nute of Concord, NH; her sister-in-law Arlene Cronin of West Melbourne, FL; and several nieces and nephews and their children. Her husband, Bob, to whom she was married for 50 years, predeceased her in 2002.Visiting hours will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 PM on Friday, December 12th at the Carll-Heald & Black Funeral Home, 580 Main Street in Springvale. A memorial service will be held at the funeral home at 11:00 AM on Saturday, December 13th. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be sent to the Keep ME Warm Fund: PO Box 200, East Wilton, ME 04234.To leave a message of condolence for the family, please click on the condolences tab to the left.