Age 83, died in Honolulu on January 7, 2023, after a brief illness. She is survived by her husband of 64 years Derek; daughters Tara and Kamala; sons Jeremy and Kainoa; six grandchildren, one great grandson and "sister" Mika.She was born in Honolulu on February 20, 1939 to Robert Latou Forbes and Marian Bronson Forbes. She attended Hanahau'oli School and Punahou School in Honolulu, The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, NY, and Stephens College in Columbia, MO. She received her Nursing degree in 1963, a Masters in International Health in 1984, and a Doctorate in Public Health in 1994 from the University of Hawaii. She taught at the University of Hawaii School of Nursing with emphasis on psychiatric mental health nursing from 1974 to 1998. She returned on a part time basis until 2004 to lead the partnership with the Hawaii Department of Health to support psychiatric/mental health nursing and introduced the State of Hawaii to the Advanced Clinical Nursing Specialist. She received the Nurse of the Year award by the Hawaii Nurses Association in 1986. In her retirement she continued to stay actively involved with community mental health, arts and culture, and the Meals on Wheels program in both Honolulu and her second home in Eureka, MT.
Always active and energetic, her diverse interests ranged from distance swimming as a two-time finisher in the Waikiki Rough Water Swim, to grand opera and Shakespeare in the Park, to Bridge and Mahjong, and planning gatherings that brought her many friends together on the shore of Maunalua Bay in Honolulu and at Glen Lake in Montana.
As her friend, Frederica Conroy said, "Charla was truly a force with her humor, intelligence and unique ability to get us all to be really real about our lives and who we are. "
A Celebration of Charla's life was held on January 17, 2023.
In lieu of flowers or gifts, the Trotter ohana encourages donations to the Hanahau'oli School Scholarship Fund at www.hanahauoli.org/giving.
