Charma Davies Lepke passed away Jan. 27, 2015, in Elkhorn. She was 95.
She was born Oct. 1, 1919, in Delavan, to Ithel B. and Florence Mary (Jones) Davies. She graduated from Dana Hall, Wellesley, Mass., and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1941 and a Master of Arts degree in organ from Wellesley College in 1942. At Wellesley College, she studied with Carl Weinrich, Nadia Boulanger and Hubert Lamb. She went on to receive her Master of Music in piano in 1946 with Rudolph Reuter at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago.
Charma met and married the Rev. John R Lepke in 1949 while teaching piano at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln. They learned Zulu, and from 1950 to 1956 went to South Africa as congregational missionaries, residing in Inanda Seminary, Durban and Maphumulo.
They returned to Wisconsin in 1956, settling in Oconomowoc where the Rev. Lepke was the minister of the UCC church, and Charma was the church organist and choir director. They later lived in Sheboygan and Coloma, Mich., before divorcing in 1974.
In 1974, Charma returned to Delavan and played organ in several area churches. In 1977, she became the organist for the Congregational United Church of Christ in Delavan, a position she held until her retirement in 2007. Throughout her life, she was a respected piano teacher, with a full schedule of students in addition to her organ work. She was a published composer, writing primarily piano, organ and choral compositions. She was a member of the American Guild of Organists, Music Teachers National Association, Wisconsin Alliance for Composers and Phi Beta Kappa and was the founder and first president of the Delavan Musical Arts Society. She is listed in Marquis “Who’s Who in America.”
Charma was preceded in death by her brothers, Philip and D. Schuyler Davies. She is survived by her son, Mark Davies Lepke, of Bingen, Wash.; two nieces, Charma Davies Gross, of Greenfield, and Susan F. Davies, of Freehold, N.J.; three nephews, Jonathan Paul Vidas, of Two Rivers, Thomas A. (Tony) Vidas, of Delavan, and Mark T. Vidas, of Minneapolis; three grand nieces; and six grand nephews.
Her funeral was Monday at the United Church of Christ in Delavan. In lieu of flowers, memorial contribution to the UCC Memorial Fund are suggested and can be sent to the attention of music ministry, which will go toward the Charma Davies Lepke Memorial Organ Recital Concert Fund.
