Alice Charlene Casperson
November 7, 1932 – September 20, 2021
Alice Charlene Casperson died on September 20, 2021 at her home following a long illness.
Charlene was born on November 7, 1932 in Monroe, Utah, to Charles LeRoy and Ruby Martha Jensen Arnold, the second of five children. She spent her youth and childhood in Monroe where she always strived to excel academically. She has always loved music and has performed in singing and solo groups in school, community and church. She played the clarinet in her high school marching band for five years, excelling in state competitions. Throughout her life she sang beautifully. She also had the amazing ability to whistle any tune.
Charlene started working at the age of 14 at a local restaurant and as a high school student she worked at her grandmother’s restaurant, in charge of the day shift. After graduating from high school in 1951, she moved to Salt Lake City where she worked and attended the Henager School of Business while living with her aunt. A year and a half later, she enrolled at Utah State in Logan, Utah. It was in the state of Utah that she met a dashing young man from Idaho who knocked her down. Max and Charlene got engaged two months after they met and married 6 months later in the Manti Temple on April 10, 1953. In the state of Utah, she worked part-time for Asst. Dean of the School of Agriculture and for the Dean of the School of Home Economics.
Charlene and Max planned to continue their education, but Max’s father was diagnosed with cancer soon after their marriage and they had to return home to take care of the family farm and sheep farm. After leaving the ROTC to run the family farm, Max was drafted into the military in October, possibly changing their lives forever. They lived in Fort Ord, California, and Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri during basic training. In April 1954, Max was ordered to travel to Europe, and Charlene had to drive home from Missouri on her own. Max served as a company office clerk at the battalion’s headquarters in Verdun, France, and was able to secure permission for Charlene to join him there. While stationed in France for 17 months, they were able to travel and see a considerable part of Europe. Their first daughter, Saundra was born in France. By the time they returned to the United States, they had saved enough money to purchase a new 1955 Chevrolet Impala that they would drive from New York to Burley, Idaho.
They farmed with Max’s father until they bought 640 acres south of Burley to farm. They raised calves and farmed until 1967 when they sold the land and bought Farm & City in Twin Falls, Idaho. Charlene was actively involved in these businesses, whether driving trucks or tractors, irrigating or feeding calves, being an accountant, secretary, buying goods, and caring for the growing family. . They started building horse trailers in 1977, thus starting a new adventure. Charmac is named after Charlene and Max and is a tribute to the fact that they both worked hard and built the trailer business together.
Charlene owned a flower shop and an antique store for eight years. Of the two, she liked antiques the most. She loved to research antiques of all kinds and they traveled across the country to collect antiques for the store. She was an excellent writer and enjoyed doing genealogical research. She has published two genealogy books titled My Danish History and My Arnold Ancestry. It was a labor of love.
Charlene was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She loved her church service and held many positions throughout her life. As a young mother, she had the honor of singing with the “Singing Mothers” at the Salt Lake City Tabernacle. Max and Charlene served an assignment at the Winter Quarters Visitors Center in Omaha, Nebraska from 1999-2000. They really enjoyed their time there. Charlene served in the temples of Boise and Twin Falls for ten years.
Charlene became very competent as a caregiver when Max was ill, before and after numerous surgeries. She loved her family and was always proud of her children’s accomplishments. She loved her grandchildren and great grandchildren and at the last family reunion it was important to consider every newborn baby.
She loved the Christmas holidays and always went the extra mile to make it a special time for the family. The Casperson Christmas Lights have been loved by many in our community. She cooked and decorated for weeks, while making handmade items, printing family history books and photos, and going the extra mile to organize fun times for all ages. She was devoted to her husband, Max, and generous to the limit. She was never able to divide something in the middle but insisted on giving it most of it. They have been married for 68 years.
They liked to travel to Europe as a young couple and later in life they liked to travel in their motorhome.
They made many lifelong friends on these trips across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
She is and will continue to be missed by all who knew and loved her.
Charlene is survived by her husband, Max Casperson of Twin Falls, Idaho; children, Saundra (Creed) Robinson, Tammy Larson, Jan (Max) Yingst, Craig (Anna) Casperson, Karol (Todd) Messersmith, Lloyd (Tara) Casperson, Chris (Todd) Campbell, Clayton Casperson; 22 grandchildren and 51 great grandchildren.
She is predeceased by her parents, Charles LeRoy and Ruby Arnold, her son-in-law, Douglas Larson, and her grandson, Brayden Max Casperson.
The family would like to thank the staff of Hospice Visions and Dr. Brian Fortuin for the excellent care they provided to Charlene.
A visit will be held on Friday, September 24 at the Twin Falls South Stake Center from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. A memorial service will be held at the Twin Falls South Stake Center, 541 Orchard Drive at 11:00 a.m. p.m. on Saturday, September 25, 2021, and the funeral service will follow at 3:30 p.m. at View Cemetery, 647 East 600 South, Burley, Idaho. A live broadcast of the service will be available on Charlene’s obituary at whitereynoldschapel.com.
Memories, condolences and photos can be shared with the family on Charlene’s memorial page at whitereynoldschapel.com.
Posted by Magic Valley Times-News on Sep 23, 2021.