Charma Joy Lind

Charma Joy Lind was born Charma Joy Harmelink to Peter Edwin Harmelink and Lillian Winifred Vrieze Harmelink on March 24, 1939, in Carnes, IA, on the family farm. In those early formative years, she developed her hard work ethic while her parents scrimped and saved to buy a farm outside of Alton, IA. When Charma was a little girl growing up on the farm, her mother would stitch dresses from gunny sacks as her parents struggled to make ends meet. She learned to read by the age of three (something she was always immensely proud of) and accepted God when she was four. That Faith could sustain her for the whole of her life.

She graduated valedictorian from Alton High School in 1957. She continued to excel academically at Morningside College in Sioux City, IA, where she was Homecoming queen. It was love at first sight for her husband, John Franklin Lind, who first saw Charma in the Homecoming parade. They were married six months after starting to date, on June 2nd, 1961, at the Alton Reformed Church in Alton, IA. Charma and John were married for over 60 years.

Charma and John’s early years included Charma doing social work in Alta, Iowa, and working as a secretary for a law practice in Spencer, Iowa, where John was a teacher and coach. In 1977 they moved to Burnsville, MN, for new opportunities. During their time in Minnesota, they cleared and built a cabin in the woods around Woman Lake. Their sense of adventure and search for new opportunities led them to move to Littleton, CO, in 1983. While in Colorado, Charma became secretary to the Vice President of the Manville Corporation. She continued a successful career after relocating to the Kansas City area in 1990.

Family was always important to Charma. She was deeply loved by her parents, and that love was reciprocated and passed on to her children. She had such great love for her own family. Her pride and joy were her kids Brian, Nicole, and Jeremy, as well as her four grandchildren.  A major stroke in 2000 was life-changing and ended her working life.

Charma found many years of happiness after her stroke, insisting that her Dutch stubbornness would carry her through the difficulties of living with new disabilities. She learned to write and color with her left hand and regained confidence in her speech to reconnect with family and friends. Although her grandchildren were born after her stroke, her ability to shower them with love and express her pride in them was limitless.

Charma was an avid reader. Her other interests included playing cards, jigsaw puzzles, shopping for bargains, gardening, cross-stitch, scrapbooking, and watching birds from her window (cardinals her favorite). Charma and John enjoyed travelling together. They travelled across Florida, where they lived in retirement, New England, and cruises to the Caribbean and to Alaska.

Charma was a member of Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village, KS. Previously she was a member of the Kirk of Dunedin in Dunedin, FL, Knox Presbyterian Church in Overland Park, KS, and Peace Reformed Church in Burnsville, MN.

Charma died in Prairie Village, KS, on March 19, 2022, at the age of 82.

Charma is survived by her husband, John of Prairie Village, KS; her children, Brian (Dawn) Lind of Lenexa, KS, Nicole (Mark) Webb of Overland Park, KS, and Jeremy (David) Lind of Sitges, Spain; her grandchildren, Colin Webb, Lily Webb, Sophia Lind, and Ryan Josiah-Lind; and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, and many dear friends.

She is preceded in death by her parents and her brother Peter Harmelink.

In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations to the American Stroke Foundation