Her funeral service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 23, 2024, at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church with burial to follow at Restlawn Memory Gardens Cemetery in Huron.

HURON — Charlotte McMahon of Huron / St. Onge, aged 72, passed away peacefully surrounded by her loved ones at her daughter’s home near Huron on May 18, 2024, after a courageous battle with Choroidal Melanoma.

Her funeral service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 23, 2024, at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church with burial to follow at Restlawn Memory Gardens Cemetery in Huron.

Visitation, with her family present, will be from 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 22, at Welter Funeral Home in Huron.

Charlotte Dawn Dick was born December 27, 1951, in Mountain Lake, Minn., to Harvey and Gladys (Oeltjenbruns) Dick. She graduated from Huron High School in 1969.

She attended Black Hills State College where she was a member of Delta Chi Lambda sorority, met her husband, Michael McMahon in 1971 and graduated in 1973.

Charlotte married Michael on February 24, 1973, in Huron.

For a time, the couple made their home in West Germany where Michael was stationed with the Army before returning to Ft. Carson, Colo., before his discharge in 1975. The couple moved back to Huron where they welcomed two children, Keegan and Erin.

While stationed at Ft. Carson, her sister-in-law completed and mailed in a job application for her at Northeast S.D. Head Start. This was the beginning of her 40-year career at NESD Head Start. Charlotte and a co-worker established the home-base program in 1980, and she played a pivotal role in the expansion of NESD Head Start program from a 3-county area to a 13-county area. She also worked with other agencies in Huron to establish the Preschool Partnership Program in Huron. Outside of work, she shuffled Keegan and Erin to hockey, loved vacationing in Silver City, tended to her flowers and fished the Missouri River with Mike.

After Mike’s retirement from Farm Bureau, Mike and Char spent many summers traveling the country with the camper and seeing friends and family. Following Mike’s passing and her retirement from NESD Head Start in 2015, she spent time with her grandchildren, traveled and enjoyed her cabin in Silver City.

In 2019, Charlotte met the second love of her life, Bill Smoot.

Since then, she has resided part-time in rural St. Onge and part-time in Huron. She and Bill spent their summers camping and fishing. The rest of the year, they traveled extensively throughout the U.S., including a few motorcycle trips to neighboring states and taking in a few SDSU Jackrabbit football games. Charlotte was a member of Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Huron.

Charlotte is survived by one son, Keegan (Brittany) of Huron; one daughter, Erin (Dan) McGaugh and four grandchildren, Reva, Natalee, Lane and Marcella McGaugh; one brother, Glenn (Karen) Dick of Huron; one sister, Pam (Dick) Biel of Huron; and special friend, Bill Smoot, St Onge. She is also survived by sisters-in-law LeeAnn (Hugh) Miner of Cavour and Verna McMahon of Hilo, Hawaii, and several nieces and nephews.

Charlotte was preceded in death by her husband, Michael in 2013, her father in 2003, mother in 2023 and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial to an Early Childhood Education Center of your choosing.

Visit www.welterfuneralhome.com