Charlene May (Woodson) Derr went peacefully into the arms of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on April 28, 2020 at the age of 94 in Lewisburg, PA. She is survived by her husband of 66 years, Derl I. Derr and their three children, Nancy Derr Castiglione (husband Greg Castiglione) of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, Jay Palmer Derr of Seattle, Washington, and Mary Derr Harding (husband Bruce Harding) of Ashburn, Virginia.
Charlene Derr was born in Morrison, Illinois on May 3, 1925 to parents Venietta and Palmer Woodson. She had a twin brother, Charles Woodson and an older sister Lorraine Winston. She graduated from Albuquerque High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico and graduated with honors from the University of Illinois with a degree in Apparel Design and Merchandising from the School of Home Economics. Finding her way back to her home in Albuquerque, NM, she met her future husband Derl, an Air Force pilot at Kirtland Air Force Base, married and started their family.
As their family expanded, Charlene made delightful and nurturing homes in Millville, PA, Plattsburgh, NY, Westfield, NJ and Fairfax, VA as Derl's career advancements provided new opportunities for the family. Upon retirement, Charlene moved with Derl back to Derl's childhood hometown of Millville, PA where they lived for almost 20 years before moving to Riverwoods Retirement Community in Lewisburg.
Charlene was a Community Dynamo wherever she lived President of the PTA, President of her P.E.O. chapter, the Presbyterian Church in Westfield, NJ, the Mill Green United Methodist Church, Girl Scout leader, etc. For more than 21 years, she served on the Board of Trustees of the Evangelical Christian Education Ministries, Inc. organization, a partnering agency supporting Christian education institutions overseas, including serving as their Executive Director.
Charlene loved to sew, ice skate, and travel with Derl on many of his business trips and pleasure trips as well. Many of those pleasure trips were spent visiting her four grandchildren, Kaitlyn Hollis and Allison Derr of Seattle, Washington, Joseph Castiglione (wife Courtney Castiglione) of Grand Forks, North Dakota and Michael Castiglione of San Juan, Puerto Rico, as well as her five great grandchildren, Xavier, Jameson, Janelle, Madelyn and Colton. She devoted her life to the service of her Lord, her family and her community. She will be greatly missed by her earthly family and welcomed with great joy by her heavenly Father.
A celebration of Charlene's life will be held at the Mill-Green United Methodist Church, 75 S. State St., Millville, on Saturday, September 26 at 11:00 am. Social distancing protocols will be in place and masks will be required. The service will be live streamed on the church's website (
www.millgreenumc.org
; click on Live Stream/YouTube). Graveside services will immediately follow in the Millville Cemetery. The Allen Funeral Home, Inc. 107 West Main at Railroad Street in Millville is honored to be serving the Derr family.
Memorial contributions in Charlene's name are suggested to: Mill- Green United Methodist Church P.O. Box 470 Millville, PA 17846 or Albright Care Services, Benevolent Care, 90 Maplewood Drive, Lewisburg, PA 17837.