Charlotte (Hollis) Heaton Gowen, a resident of St. Andrews Village in Boothbay Harbor, died Jan. 11, 2019.

Charlotte was born on Feb. 5, 1921 and grew up in Cohasset, Massachusetts, raised by an aunt and uncle, Ida and Leo Butterfield. After graduation from the local high school, she studied at the New England Conservatory of Music and during those years in Boston developed a lasting love of music and the arts.

After a move to Concord, New Hampshire she worked as secretary in the Episcopal Diocesan House and also served as assistant director of what was then called the Mountain Mission by mail, working with families in the more remote areas of the state. In Concord she was active in the Community Players Group and also painted authentic early American designs on articles sold by the New Hampshire League of Arts & Crafts.

While on vacation in the Virgin Islands, she met and later married Trowbridge Heaton of New Haven, Connecticut. The couple divided their time between the Islands, their home in Cohasset and enjoyed world-wide travels. Sometime after her husband’s death, she moved to Newbury, Massachusetts. There, among other activities, she volunteered at the Brigham Manor Nursing Home, playing the piano for residents for over 20 years.

In 1992 she married Clark Hathaway Gowen, a retired W. Newbury farmer. Clark liked to tease that she married him to get his long-held seats at Symphony Hall! She was immensely proud that Clark turned over more than 40 acres of his beautiful fields to Essex County Greenbelt ensuring that they would never be cut up into house lots. Following Clark’s death she moved full time to Boothbay Harbor, Maine, where she had a summer home for many years.

Over the years as a member of the Walter Piston Society she was a supporter of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, an avid Red Sox fan, an enthusiastic Scrabble player, especially adored dachshunds, and kept herself and several friends supplied with beautiful hand knit sweaters. She truly considered herself one of the most fortunate women in the world.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 11 a.m. at St. Columba’s Episcopal Church in Boothbay Harbor and private burial in Barnstable, Massachusetts at a later date. A reception will be held immediately following the service at the St. Andrews Village in Boothbay Harbor.

In lieu of flowers, if one wishes donations may be made in her memory to the Lincoln County Animal Shelter (now Midcoast Humane Society) 190 Pleasant Street, Brunswick, ME 04011.

Arrangements are entrusted to Hall’s of Boothbay. Condolences may be shared at www.hallfuneralhomes.com