Obituary of Charlotte D. Roorda

Charlotte Goodley Dahlen Roorda of Morris Plains, New Jersey, passed away peacefully at home January 9, 2019 at the age of 85. Charlotte leaves behind her devoted husband of 25 years, Sidney Roorda, his children, two of her three children and 3 granddaughters. Charlotte was predeceased by her son J. Brendan Dahlen and her first husband and the father of her children, Dean M. Dahlen, both in 2003. Charlotte is also survived by granddaughters Cory S. Dahlen daughter of Charlotte’s son Dean E. Dahlen and wife Maryann as well as Jessica C. and Carlyn M. Griscti, children of Charlotte’s daughter Kerry D. Griscti.

Charlotte was the daughter of the late Charles and Ethel Goodley and sister to the late Doris Goodley Duncan. She was born and raised in McDaniel Heights, Wilmington, DE. She graduated University of Delaware in 1955, married in 1956 and started raising a family in New Jersey. That was just the first of many places her first husband’s work took the family. Together they lived and traveled the world both in service to Dean’s job at Exxon and their desire to share the world with their children.

Along the way, Charlotte became a NJ-licensed real estate broker and enjoyed a few decades of helping other families move or find their home. Her degree in Home Economics was a foundation to her many creative pursuits, from interior decorating to creative writing and brass rubbing.

In 1993, Charlotte found the greatest love of her life, Sidney Roorda, father of Dawn Croft and Dan Roorda. They married and retired together that year to Murphy N.C., and continued to see the world.  During some of their years together, Charlotte and Sidney traveled the east coast in a mauve motorhome they dubbed Harvey. Charlotte manned Harvey and was Sidney’s support team while he fulfilled his multi-year goal of hiking the entirety of the Appalachian Trail. Later on, they enjoyed many winters of warm weather and good friends in Bradenton, FL and in between embarked on many adventures near and far.

In early 2018, Charlotte and Sidney, returned to New Jersey to be closer to family, after having lived in Morganton, NC for 10 years. Funeral arrangements are pending.