Charlotte Des Jardins

Charlotte  Des Jardins, 92, long time resident of Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, passed away on September 7, 2023.  Charlotte was born in Joliette, Quebec, Canada.  She relocated with her parents to Lewiston, Maine where she was naturalized.  Charlotte grew up during the Great Depression, enduring poverty and, for a time, she was placed within the care of an orphanage.  These events shaped her life, as she was determined to secure a brighter future. As a young woman, Charlotte waited tables to be able to pay her tuition to the University of Maine, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree.

She was the beloved mother of Jim (Debora), Michael (Marilyn), and John Des Jardins.  She was the loving grandmother of Jeanette and Marisa.  She was also a great warrior for many current Chicago citizens as well as those in the United States.  In the 1970s, Charlotte became part of the movement to make America and Chicago accessible to all people, regardless of disability.  She was in the trenches in the early days, and fought to have wheel chairs and went up agains the Chicago Board of Education to ensure that all students, regardless of physical and mental disabilities, were able to have their needs me in a classroom in the general education system.  In her later years, she traveled nationwide speaking to groups to empower and give individuals the tools to be able to advocate for themselves and fight for their rights.  She was a resident of Hyde Park for more than sixty years and her family wanted to thank her caregiver Hanna for her kindness over the past 2 1/2 years.    

The family also asks that memorials be made to the Family Resource Center for Children with Disabilities https://frcd.org/.

Arrangements entrusted to Chicagoland Cremation Options, Schiller Park, IL.