Here are the most common questions Charlotte was asked by children.
When is Charlotte’s birthday?
June 26. She was born in 1915. She lived to be 98 and stayed very present until she died, on November 19, 2013.
How do you pronounce Charlotte’s last name?
There is no right way; it is an Americanized version of a Russian name, “Zolotov”, which ended in a V, and means “gold”. It was Charlotte’s married name, the last name of her late former husband, Maurice, whose parents, like her grandparents, came from Russia.
Zoll-a-TOW (last syllable emphasized, with “tow” pronounced like the first syllable of “towel”) is the way Charlotte usually said it. Zoll-o-TOE is also okay, and the way Charlotte’s husband used to pronounce it.
Charlotte’s last name before she married Maurice was Shapiro. She had a middle name, Gertrude but never used it.
Did Charlotte have any brothers or sisters?
She did not have any brothers. She did have one sister, Dorothy, whose nickname was Dot. Dot and Charlotte shared a birthday, but she was six years older. Dorothy, who lived to be 100 years old and nine months, was very beautiful. She was also an editor, of history textbooks, at Macmillan, for many years.
Did Charlotte have any children?
Two children, a son, Stephen, born in 1945, and a daughter, Ellen, born in 1952. Stephen, who later named himself Zee, is a poker player in Las Vegas. He cares about animal welfare, reads a lot and enjoys movies. Ellen became Crescent Dragonwagon, a prolific much-published writer in five genres. A well-known public speaker, an excellent cook and gardener, a reader and advocate for writers and literacy, she lives in Vermont, but frequently visits Arkansas and New York.
What were Charlotte’s hobbies?
Until old age, Charlotte spent time in her garden and on her indoor plants. She listened to classic music when she was young, but came to enjoy the African acoustic music her caregivers introduced her to later. She read a lot. Friends were very important to her. Although she enjoyed time alone, she often quietly sat half hidden on her porch, and watched the life on her street, all the coming and going and what she called, “big and little excitements.”
When asked her what she did in her “spare” time, she said she had none. She told one interviewer, “I believe that in a larger sense no time is ‘spare’, it is limited, precious and valuable.”