Charlotte Canion’s Purposes in Life

Telling the story of someone as multi-dimensional as Charlotte Canion, even at its easiest, is daunting. She’s an author. She’s an actress, a singer, a dancer. This year she was named first runner-up in the Ms. Texas Senior America Pageant. She’s now a member of the Pageant’s CAMEO Club and performs at senior communities across DFW. She’s a wife, a mother, a “memom,” and a “great-memom.” She’s a radio host and a public speaker. She’s a caregiver and a Texas SuperStar Master Gardener. She could have become simply a Master Gardener but, no; Charlotte felt compelled to go the extra distance and be a TEXAS SUPERSTAR Master Gardener.
Charlotte holds a degree in elementary education. She was an event planner for State Farm Insurance. She has been, and still is, a spokesperson for a variety of companies. That part of her life began in the 1970s when she was a “Biscuit Girl” for Morrison Milling in Denton. She attended trade shows and baked beer biscuits to represent their products. She’s been a model and a member of an all-female quartet called The Sweet Adelines. She can belt out a heck of a toe-tapping rendition of Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy. She’s also a natural comedian and an enthusiastic hugger.
She’s 76 years old in July, with the look and the energy of a fresh-faced teenager.
She’s a woman of God and, just maybe, therein lies her secret – although it’s a secret she loves to make public.
“Most important to me are God, family, and friends,” Charlotte revealed. “In that order. I also have four ‘golden words’ I live by. They are love, respect, patience, and forgiveness. Master those four and struggles will automatically become much, much easier.
“I honestly believe I’ve been exactly where I was supposed to be in every step of my life. I still am. I don’t care if I’m speaking with three or 10 or 1,000 people, someone there is supposed to hear what I’m saying.
“One of my passions is encouraging young people to connect with their parents and grandparents because they’re responsible for making new memories. Village Green Memory Care asked me recently to be their spokesperson. That was purely a God-thing because it’s become an integral part of what I just said about younger adults establishing new memories. This is just one of the things I’m convinced God’s been training me to do
for my entire life.”
Charlotte’s book, You Have to Laugh to Keep from Crying, is another result of her “training.” It’s also a shining illustration of how all things work together for good. She began writing in 2017, with the book unfolding according to her “four
golden words.”
“I was halfway through writing when I was diagnosed with cancer,” Charlotte recalled. Things were put on hold while she underwent treatment.
“The sub-title of the book is How to Parent your Parents,” Charlotte said. “Having cancer hit me out of the blue like that taught me so much. Between my parents and my second husband Crague’s father, I cared for relatives with Alzheimer’s, dementia, and Parkinson’s. I had cancer and so did my first husband, who passed away because of it.”
Charlotte was granted a front-row seat for a sweeping, 365-degree perspective on debilitating diseases. It provided her with the necessary talent, passion, and compassion to communicate her experiences to others. The ultimate results of her up-close-and-personal exposure helped boost the book to the Amazon Best Seller list as well as be named one of the Best Self-Help Books in Texas.
“Did you know 67-percent of caregivers die before the person they’re caring for?” Charlotte asked. “I’ve spoken on this topic so frequently. I learned a long time ago to ‘Let go and let God.’ I know I’m walking that path because sometimes things come out of my mouth that I know must come from God. I would never say some of them on my own!”
Some years ago, Rick Warren published The Purpose Driven Life. People flocked to it. They wanted to know the answer to the “Why am I here?” question. Ask Charlotte how it feels to learn the answer.
“It’s euphoric,” she laughed, “to know I’m living my purpose.” And that’s another thing Charlotte does. She laughs – a lot – because she’s happy with her God, with her husband, with her kids and grandkids, with her entire life, and so very happy with her purpose(s).