Auntie Sue Lotties Godmother

Charlotte's Eulogy by Auntie Sue.

When Charlotte’s Mum and Dad asked me to do the eulogy I felt honoured and privileged but at the same time I knew how difficult this would be. I have so many memories of Charlotte I did not know where to start. I asked my daughter Emma, also Charlotte’s godmother to help me choose a selection of memories we thought would create the perfect picture of Charlotte for those of you who didn’t get the chance to know her as well as we did.
On Charlotte’s special day, as much as I wanted to I felt unable to read the eulogy and so we used a back up plan! Emma had previously recorded the eulogy onto tape and this is what we used. Charlotte knew that I wasn't a great public speaker and we thought she wouldn’t mind if Emma stepped in. The eulogy is as follows………

A Tribute to Charlotte Elizabeth Amelia Baines


Seven years ago Charlotte became part of my extended family, and I am so glad that Jeannette and Mike chose me to look after their precious little girl. There were so many aspects of her personality; she was bubbly, cheerful, kind, considerate, witty, and mischievous (in a cute way of course!)But most of all she was brave as we all know. All in all Charlotte was unique; her own individual personality was what made her hold a special place in all our hearts. You couldn’t help but love Charlotte! We all had so many nick names for her, Letish, Lottie, Lottie Baines, Charlie and of course the funniest ‘Lottie trouble’ not because she was naughty, but if ever there was mischief going on Charlotte was always the one who was unfortunately got caught! I’d like to share some memories with you of the time we spent together, which I hope will show you just what a wonderful person Charlotte was.

Charlotte had a vivid imagination and created little worlds which she and her best friend Sam inhabited as they played. Ever generous she was the one who always ended up playing the part nobody else wanted - usually that of the Dad! As clever as she was and always good at solving problems not surprisingly Charlotte found a way around this problem by inventing a new game, ‘Childminders’! One day she decided that she would have triplets. When I asked who was going to look after them when she went to work she replied, “You are of course, but I’m not paying you!”

Charlotte loved dressing up, and could turn any old item into something fabulous. She especially enjoyed wearing Emma’s old dancing costumes. One that sticks in my mind is a luminous yellow skirt which she turned into a boob tube!
For a while her favourite accessories consisted of lots of pairs of ‘Bet Lynch’ earrings. I still can’t believe how she ended up having her ears pierced. There I was going to Claire’s Accessories Charlottes favourite shop to have Sam’s ears pierced with Charlotte begging me until I rang her Mum to ask if she could have hers done too! The laugh of it was, although we were there for Sam, Charlotte being the daring one went first, while Sam almost chickened out altogether. After this earrings were Charlotte’s speciality, the bigger, the brighter, the better!

A pop star in the making, Charlotte was desperate to be on the X Factor. She and her friends spent many a night at Auntie Sue’s auditioning who would go through to the finals. With her love of pop music and confidence, Charlotte was always one of the favourites among them. Not surprisingly at Emma’s 21st Birthday Charlotte took centre stage and charge of the microphone as she sang her little heart out to ‘It’s Raining Men’!
Charlotte was also a lover of ‘the soaps’ and every Tuesday Charlotte and Sam would race home from school to my house to find the new TV book so they could read the latest gossip. Among Charlottes favourite soaps were ‘The Bill and Hollyoaks’ and that was hen she wasn’t watching Suite Life, Lizzie McGuire, Hanna Montana and That’s So Raven on the Disney channel!

Her greatest passion was her dolls until she was old enough to help with the babies that were looked after in my home. Her caring nature was most evident here, she loved entertaining and helping to feed the babies – even changing their nappies – mind you she drew the line at the dirty ones! As the babies grew into toddlers she took great delight in reading to them and helping them with various activities. With so much love to give, Charlotte couldn’t help but dish out lots of kisses and cuddles on a regular basis. For this reason I used to call her my Necklace!

She taught us a lot about life. On one occasion Charlotte was desperate to make a cheesecake and when Emma said she didn’t know how to make one Charlottes’ response was ‘Well you’ve got a cookery book haven’t you?’ Out the book came and a cheesecake of sorts was produced amidst a great deal of laughter. Thanks to Mr Wobble, our nick name for her bad arm, the mixture ended up everywhere! Unfortunately the book didn’t include instructions for clearing up the mess.

Not content to rest on her laurels, Charlotte made Auntie Sue her favourite – A Fruit Salad; this time with Sam’s help! Once again laughter was the order of the day as Mr Wobble sent pieces of fruit flying around the room. She was a determined little lady who wouldn’t let her illness get in the way of what she wanted to do. Even the staff at the hospital were amazed at how she bounced back after each treatment, desperate to get back to school and be herself.

My most treasured memory of Charlotte is on our trip on the yellow duck bus last summer! It was just the two of us so I decided to take her on a trip to the Albert dock to do something which she had always wanted to do. She screamed with delight as the bus hit the water. After the duck bus tour Charlotte picked where we went for lunch and boy did she have taste! Knowing exactly where she was going, Charlotte led the way -she wanted to share where she had previously been with her Mum and her Dad. Charlotte ordered enormous fish fingers for the pair of us. Knowing I had food allergies she said, ‘just eat them they won’t kill you will they?’ Always eager to share her happiness, Charlotte proceeded to ring her Mum, her Dad and Emma on their mobiles to tell them what a fantastic time she had had on the duck bus!

For all we have only been blessed with Charlotte’s company for a short while, I know that she was extremely happy. She knew how much she was loved by all those around her, especially by her mum and her dad. Jeanette and Mike should both feel very proud that they loved, cared, and nurtured their daughter who they gave the most wonderful experiences in life.

For my part, it has been an honour and a privilege to have been part of Charlotte’s life. I know that her love will be with us always and forever. Let us remember her with a smile.

Think Pink, Think of Charlotte!


As I said previously it was a great honour not only to have looked after Charlotte for such a long time but also to have had the opportunity to know her so well and to have shared so many happy memories with her. I have so many more memories to share with you and I promise that in time I will share those with you just as lottie would have wanted me to!


Thank you to Jeannette and Mike for letting both Auntie Sue and Emma share such a huge part of their precious daughters life, we will treasure those memories forever and Charlotte will always be in our hearts. We were always there for Charlotte and now will always be there for her Mum and Dad. Love always Auntie Sue and Emma xxxx