Charlotte Mae Cudney Heiserman

Mass of Christian Burial for Charlotte Mae Cudney Heiserman, 94, will be at 10:00a.m. Saturday, October 29 at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Lawrence. The family will have visitation 9:00-10:00a.m. at the church, with burial following at Mount Calvary cemetery in Lawrence, Kansas. Charlotte died peacefully in her home October 26, 2022, with family by her side.

Charlotte was born on December 31, 1927, in Harrison, Arkansas to Leo H. Cudney and Minnie O. Slama Cudney. She spent her early childhood in Marysville, Kansas. Charlotte’s dad was employed by the Union Pacific Railroad and died suddenly when she was just 16 years old, resulting in Charlotte beginning her working career at a young age, first at the Marysville general store candy counter and then at Armour’s Creamier. 

Charlotte graduated from Marysville High School on May 25, 1945; the following day, she and her future mother-in-law boarded a Continental Bus to Mineral Wells, Texas where Charlotte married her high school sweetheart, Sgt. Dale Heiserman, in the Army chapel at Camp Wolters Military Base. They were married 69 years at the time of Dale’s passing in 2015.

Following Dale’s discharge from the Army, Dale and Charlotte returned to Marysville where Charlotte worked at Jayhawk Café and together, they opened Heiserman Photography Studio. One of the highlights of the studio was on Saturday evenings when Dale and Charlotte would go to Club 36 in Marysville where most of the nationally known Big Bands would come and play. They would spend the early part of the evening taking photos of the various tables of partygoers, rush back to the studio, develop the photos, and then return to the club with the prints for the individuals to purchase, providing some of the first ever “same day” photography.

In 1949 they moved to Kansas City, MO where Charlotte worked at the Sunshine Biscuit Co. for two years before becoming a new mother, with the birth of their first son, Dale Jr. The family then returned to Oketo, KS where their son Gary was born, and they lived there for the next four years working on the farm. Dale later joined the Kansas Highway Patrol in 1957 and was stationed in McPherson, where their daughter Linda was born. They then moved to Council Grove and added their second daughter, Julie, to the family. The family made their final move to Lawrence, Kansas in 1963. Once the kids were school age, Charlotte became a school bus driver and then in 1968 began her career at the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. She initially was a dispatcher, then a deputy, and later the City and County photographer. Charlotte retired from the Douglas County Sheriff’s office in February 1991.

Charlotte was a wonderful, caring, giving person. She was an exceptional cook and an excellent baker. Her grandchildren have wonderful memories of her homemade hot fudge sauce and homemade ice cream. She enjoyed needlework, canning (as Dale was an avid gardener), cooking, and raising her four children. She was a member of the Kansas Sheriff’s Association, American Legion Auxiliary Post 14, Corpus Christi Catholic Church, and at one time, a member of the Altar Society. 

Charlotte was proceeded in death by her husband Dale; son Dale Frederick Heiserman Jr.; her daughter-in-law, Jane Heiserman; her son-in-law, Jim Hazlett; her parents, Leo and Minnie Cudney; her step-father Melvin Hatfield; and brothers Merle Cudney and Darrell Cudney. Charlotte is survived by her son Gary Heiserman and wife Lynn; daughter Linda Schrock and husband Eric; daughter Julie Allmon and husband Kevin, all of Lawrence; brother Leo Cudney Jr. of Marysville; her grandchildren Jenny Heiserman, Amber and Scott Rowland, Ben and Maegan Heiserman, Sommer and Cameron Taylor, Kristie Hazlett, Michael Schrock, Chris Allmon, and Alex Allmon; and great-grandchildren Brayden and Adriana Rowland, Daisie and Cooper Heiserman, and Elijah, Lukas, and Raelee Taylor.

Memorial contributions can be sent to Corpus Christi Catholic Church to the Bereavement Ministry or to the Corpus Christi Catholic Church.