Charla Marie Eastwood

May 16, 1957 — June 28, 2024

Paola, Kansas

Charla Marie Eastwood, 67, of Paola, Kansas, passed away on Friday, June 28, 2024, surrounded by loved ones. Born on May 16, 1957, in Kansas City, Missouri, to John and Elizabeth Swanson Dehaemers, Charla was united in marriage to Mark Eastwood on February 15, 1997.

She owned a commercial tenant finish construction company before attending Colorado Bible College, later Charis Bible College, where she began as an instructor before becoming the director of the college’s Overland Park campus. Charla was a member of La Cygne Christian Church.

Her interests and talents were unsurprisingly diverse, including gardening where she raised hostas, impatiens and marigolds; riding her Harley; and earning a 3rd degree black belt in taekwondo. A collector of handwritten recipes, Charla loved preparing meals for her family on holidays. She was an animal lover, raising Rottweilers and amassing a collection of barn kitties. She loved her family deeply and was the grandma everyone wished they had.

Charla was preceded in death by her parents, an infant brother and her sister, Dana White. Charla is survived by her husband of 27 years, Mark; adult children Randyl (Jeremy) Danner, Eric (Resa) Eastwood, Travis (Kim) Eastwood, Chrissy (Robert) Norton; two sisters, Lynne Dehaemers and Lisa Davis; and eleven grandchildren, Chase, Elena, Kai, Zaritha, Lily, Will, Mayla, Zane, Mia, Mariah and Cooper. 

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday, July 8, 2024, at the La Cygne Christian Church, followed by a burial ceremony in Centerville Cemetery. A visitation will take place from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday, July 7, at the Schneider Funeral Home and Crematory, La Cygne Chapel. Flowers are welcome and memorial contributions can be made to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, c/o Schneider Funeral Home, PO Box 304, La Cygne, Kansas 66040. Online condolences may be left at www.schneiderfunerals.com. 

(Published in the Linn County Journal on July 1, 2024.)