Charlene K. Word

1943 - 2025

Charlene K. Word, 82, of Delmont, passed away peacefully on Friday, June 27, 2025, after a brief illness. She was born on March 23, 1943, to Charles and Maxine Cooper in Pittsburgh. When she was four years old, her father started the Penn-Franklin News in the basement of their Level Green home. While growing up, she and her sister, Georgia, would assist their parents in numerous tasks to get the paper out each week. She attended Franklin Regional High School and went on to attend Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee. After graduating with a degree in sociology, she took on the world, traveling extensively throughout Europe. She was employed with the USO and assigned to work in Germany, where she met her husband, Thomas "Charlie" Word. They would go on to have three children, Suzanne, Michelle, and Julie. After returning to the United States in the 70s, Charlene again took up her work at the family business and eventually took over as co-owner with her sister Georgia. She was extremely proud of her family and the newspaper they created together. In her many years as advertising manager, she would enjoy visiting local businesses to discuss their ads. The Murrysville, Delmont, and Penn-Trafford communities were extremely important to her, and she took great pride in providing the news and building community through her work. She was an avid Steelers fan, with strong Monday-morning-quarterback opinions. But her feelings for the Steelers were nothing compared to how much she loved her family. Holidays, pizza during the game, or Sunday dinner at grandmother's, she loved spending time with family. She enjoyed Christmas the most because she loved giving gifts. She liked to make getting your gift a challenge. Scavenger hunts, obstacle courses, puzzles, and brain teasers were often the barrier, and she loved to watch her children try to guess, figure out solutions, and crawl through every nook and cranny of the house to find presents. She loved music. Wherever she went, she was singing in the car, at home, in the grocery store. If you didn't hear her singing, you could see the tunes in her head as she tapped her foot or nodded her head to a subtle rhythm during conversation. Charlene was preceded in death by her parents, brother, Harry Charles Cooper; daughter, Suzanne; and brother-in-law, Wade Boring. She is survived by her sister, Georgia Lee; daughters, Michelle and Julie; ex-husband, Charlie; and several generations of nieces and nephews. A private family burial service was held Monday, June 30, 2025, at Crossroads Cemetery in Monroeville. A Celebration of Life service will be held at 1:30 p.m. August 2, 2025, at Newlonsburg Presbyterian Church in Murrysville. In lieu of flowers, please send memorial donations to The Alzheimer's Association, P.O. Box 96011, Washington, DC 20090 (www.donorservices.alz.org), or Newlonsburg Presbyterian Church, 4600 Old William Penn Hwy, Murrysville, PA 15668. For online condolences, please visit www.hartfuneralhomeinc.com.