Obituary of Charlotte M. Novak

Charlotte M. Novak passed away peacefully at home on September 29, 2018. She was 91 years old. The daughter of the late Fred and Margaret (Lenert) Mattheiss, Charlotte was born on February 24, 1927 in Clifton, NJ. Charlotte was a 1945 graduate of Clifton High School and a proud graduate of the Bellevue School of Nursing in Manhattan in 1948. She married Richard Novak on May 5, 1951 and they had six children over the next nine years. In 1967, the Novak clan left Clifton and settled in the Middletown, NY area. After raising their children, Charlotte returned to nursing and spent many years working at Camp LaGuardia in Chester, NY, a facility for homeless men. She was a talented painter, craftsperson, and a voracious reader straight into her nineties. She generously volunteered her time at the food kitchen, nursing homes and local Catholic Church. She was a caring individual, purposeful, widely admired, well-traveled, and always willing to help her family and others where she could. Charlotte embraced life with a boundless curiosity and firm belief in the power of giving. She will be deeply missed. Charlotte was predeceased by her loving husband, Rich, in 1995. She is survived by her six children: Ellen Zamperetti of Rome, NY; Tom Novak of Cambridge, MA; Paul Novak of Greenville, SC; Barbara Novak of Madrid, Spain; Claire Salo (Steve) of West Winfield, NY; and Janet Hanley (Tom) of Wurtsboro, NY. She is also survived by her ten grandchildren: Ben (Meghan), Miles, Jonah, Jeff, Emily, Serena, Maddie, Warren, Taylor and Morgan; two great-granddaughters: Charlotte and Norah; two brothers: Fred & Len Mattheiss of NJ; and many nieces and nephews. A private memorial service and gravesite burial at St. Joseph's Cemetery will be held at the convenience of the family. Memorial donations in memory of Charlotte can be made to Friends of Thrall Library, 11 Depot St., Middletown NY 10940. Special thanks to the staff at Hospice of Orange and Sullivan Counties for their loving care and support. In keeping with Charlotte's steadfast example, it would honor her if friends & family would take a moment to perform an unsolicited act of kindness towards another.