Charlotte Lorraine Dupree

Charlotte Lorraine Dupree, 85, passed on February 3, 2014, in Denver, Colorado. She was born in Medicine Lodge, Kansas, second child of Grady and Lottie Dupree. Mr. Dupree was Station Agent for the Santa Fe Railroad Company and when Charlotte was two, the family transferred to Avard, Oklahoma, a small farming community. Music dominated her early years; having parents who were accomplished vocalists, she was enlisted early on as their accompanist. Charlotte was also pianist for the Christian church services during her high school years. She enjoyed a close relationship with her brother Bill, two years older. Together they learned to swim, hunt rocks and dance. They seldom enjoyed playing piano duets and rivaled each other as to whom could perform the best boogie-woogie. After public school, Charlotte studied applied organ and piano at Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma. In 1949, she married James O. Fairless and they had three daughters. Mr. Fairless taught high school English and Speech at Conway Springs, Kansas, before becoming a sales representative for the Chevrolet Division of General Motors. As a young mother, Charlotte enjoyed sewing clothes for her daughters and coached them at the piano and encouraged them to learn violin and cello. She also taught piano lessons and was a church musician. In 1965, the Fairless family moved to Manhattan, Kansas, where Charlotte completed a Bachelors Degree in Music and obtained a teaching assistant scholarship at the University of Colorado at Boulder. While working toward a masters degree in pipe organ performance, she served one term as Dean of the Boulder Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, was an active member of Mu Phi Epsilon, a music fraternity, and held the organist/choirmaster post at St. John's Episcopal Church in Boulder. During the early 1980s, Charlotte took training to become a legal secretary and was employed by the College of Law at Denver in the Transportation Law Department, and later in the office of Baker and Hostetler in downtown Denver. She also volunteered as organist for nearby St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, her last choirmaster/organist position. In 1987, she moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to work for the law firm Downes, Como and Silver. After retiring in 1992, she lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she seriously took up dancing in her sixties and proudly earned awards in Tango and Waltz. In her seventies, Charlotte moved to the Bay Area in California and began a doll collection, learning about the restoration and costuming of dolls. She moved to the Phoenix area in the late 1990s before returning to Denver in 2007. Charlotte was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, her youngest daughter Kimberly, and her brother. She is survived by daughters Dr. Toni Black (Arnie), University of New Mexico, Albuquerque; Tanya Steele (Dave) of Englewood, Colorado; grandsons Dr. Jason Endacott (Haley), University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; Jared Black of Albuquerque; granddaughters Noelle Buben (Eric) of Santa Barbara, California; Kezia Endacott (Jason Helms) of Lakewood, Colorado; nieces Charlotte (namesake) Rogowski (Rick), and Teresa Callaway (Kirby), both of Amarillo, Texas; great grandsons Jackson and Cooper Endacott; great granddaughter Kylie Buben and great grandson Ashton Buben. A memorial Celebration of Life service and reception will be held at Romero Family Funeral Home, 4750 Tejon Street, Denver, CO, 80211 on Saturday, February 22nd at 2:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Humane Society of Boulder Valley, 2323 55th St, Boulder, CO 80301 in remembrance of her beloved cat, Amber. Previous Events Memorial Service FEB 22. 2:00 PM (MT) Romero Family Funeral Home & Ft. Logan Mortuary - Denver 4750 Tejon St Denver, CO 80211 [email protected] Loading map