Lauren T. Charlton

Lauren Therese Charlton passed away peacefully on the afternoon of April 12, 2025, at her home in South Bend, Indiana, with loved ones in attendance and Billy Joel in the background. Born March 3, 1956 to Elwyn and Rose (Gargalino) Turner, she lived most of her life in and around Kalamazoo, Michigan, before moving to St. Paul’s in South Bend in April 2023. She attended Kalamazoo Central High School and earned an Associates Degree in Nursing from Kalamazoo Valley Community College, eventually becoming an RN working in the NICU at Bronson Methodist Hospital. She married Scott Charlton on August 7, 1982 and although they later divorced, their relationship remained amicable.

Lauren enjoyed gardening, trips to Lake Michigan, and spending time with family. She was continually reading Stephen King books, for the first time or the fifth. His writing captivated her imagination and she always had a recommendation to share. She loved animals, cats in particular, and adopted several in her life. She had a big heart and the humility to recognize injustice and unfairness in the world around us. She volunteered with various charitable organizations and embodied the nursing spirit long after she left the profession. She struggled with illness and ailments throughout her life, including the metastatic cancer that ultimately took her from us and a decades-long battle with addiction. While she ultimately succumbed to her physical illness, she was proud to have kept her sobriety for the final years of her life. She tried to keep a positive outlook through it all and the resonant opinion among her peers at St. Paul’s is that her friendly smile will be missed most of all.

Lauren is preceded in death by her parents and survived by Scott Charlton and their children, David (Janel) Charlton and Theresa (Michael) Burgos, and grandchildren, John and Lele Charlton and Gianna Burgos, as well as her siblings, Ray Turner, Mark (Linda) Turner, Scott (Marguerite) Turner, and a host of nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her “God-given sister” Janet Keim and her “Bestest friend ever!” Dana Boyd, as well as her companion Scott Parker, who provided so much comfort and love to her in her final years.

A visitation will be held 5:00-8:00p on Tuesday, April 15, to include a Rosary at 7:30, at Kaniewski Funeral Home in South Bend (3545 N Bendix Dr, South Bend, IN 46628). Her funeral Mass will be at 11:00a on Wednesday, April 16, preceded by another visitation at 10:00a.m. Both of these will be held at St. Paul's in South Bend, where she lived and thrived for the past two years (3602 S Ironwood Dr, South Bend, IN 46614).

In lieu of flowers or gifts, please consider a donation in Lauren's name to Pet Refuge of South Bend (www.petrefuge.com). As many of you know, she loved animals–cats in particular–and she was able to participate in Pet Refuge's "Seniors for Seniors" program, in which senior cats are fostered by senior humans (or maybe the other way around).

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