Charlotte Koons, retired elementary teacher, passed away on March 16 at Hospice House in East Northport at the age of 87. Charlotte taught in Northport for 43 years, both at Norwood Avenue and in the gifted program at Fifth Avenue. She was predeceased by her husband Chester Koons, know affectionally as Silverbear, the name that appeared on her New York State vanity license plate after his death.

Charlotte was a lifelong educator, activist and arts advocate, know and loved by many in the greater Huntington area. In the 1960’s she and her husband helped form the Suffolk Country New York Civil Liberties Union. Her activism continued in her later years; she was a founding member of Huntington NOW, CODEPINK LI, and Women for Peace. In 2018 she was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award as co-founder of the Suffolk Chapter of New York Civil Liberties Union.

Charlotte was also a poet who spent seventeen years on the board of the Northport Arts Coalitions. She was a longtime supporter and board member of the Huntington Arts Cinema Centre, and for the last ten years she was an active member of the Bear Bones Theater Company in Northport and the Northport One-Act Play Festival.

The family has requested memorial donations be made in Charlotte’s name to the Visiting Nurse/Hospice House, Huntington Cinema Arts Centre, the Suffolk Country Chapter of the CLU or to any of the other organizations she supported.

R-UTN members with memories of Charlotte they wish to share can email [email protected]. Please keep your commemorative brief and include your name and former school.