ELMA — Charlotte Rose Platte, 89, of Elma, passed away Tuesday, September 1, 2026, at her home surrounded by her loving family.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, September 11, at St. Peter Lutheran Church, 107 Wood Street in Elma, with the Rev. Bruce Miller officiating. Interment will follow at Howard Cemetery in Elma.
Visitation will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, September 10, at Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home & Crematory in Elma and will continue for one hour before the service Friday at the church.
Charlotte was born February 22, 1937, in Elma to Wyron and Elsie Buchholz.
She grew up in Elma and graduated from Elma High School in 1954. A strong student, Charlotte advanced quickly through school, skipping her freshman year. She also played basketball, performed on French horn in the concert band and worked as an usher at the Elma Theater during her teenage years.
After graduating at age 17, Charlotte went to work for Lutheran Mutual in Waverly.
While living there, mutual friends introduced her to Emil Conrad Platte. The couple fell in love and were married June 6, 1956, at St. Peter Lutheran Church in Elma.
Charlotte and Emil spent their married life farming just south of Elma.
While Charlotte devoted much of her time to raising their five children — Claudia, Ed, Tom, Nancy and Joan — she also helped with farm work when needed. During harvest season, that sometimes meant hauling loaded wagons of corn by tractor to the local cooperative, a job she was not especially fond of but nevertheless handled as part of farm life.
Family remained at the center of Charlotte and Emil’s lives.
They supported their children in school sports, music and other activities and made a point of attending events whenever possible. Charlotte even accompanied students as a chaperone on several out-of-state high school band trips.
As the family grew, Charlotte took great joy in following the lives and activities of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Faith was another constant throughout Charlotte’s life.
She was deeply involved at St. Peter Lutheran Church, where she taught Sunday school and catechism classes. She was a longtime member of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League and served as an officer numerous times.
Charlotte enjoyed attending LWML conventions around the country and also helped make many Lutheran World Relief quilts.
She was active beyond the church as well, serving as a 4-H leader, a member of the library board and a member of the Howard County Cattle Women’s Association.
After their children were grown, Charlotte and Emil enjoyed traveling together. Their destinations included Florida, Myrtle Beach, Colorado and Casa Grande.
They were also enthusiastic St. Louis Cardinals fans and enjoyed following Caitlin Clark.
The year 2026 brought two particularly meaningful milestones for Charlotte and Emil.
On June 6, they celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary.
That same year, the couple was honored as Grand Marshals of the Elma Trail Days parade.
Charlotte is survived by her husband, Emil Platte of Elma; children Ed (Shirley) Platte of Charles City, Tom Platte of Elma, Nancy (Dean) Morris of New Hampton and Joan (Scott) Rauch of East Peoria, Illinois; son-in-law Stan Humbargar of Denver, Colorado; grandchildren Andrea (Brian) Palmersheim, Ben (Rebecca) Morris, Kayla (Andy) Sebastian, Cody (Sarah) Humbargar, Aaron Platte and friend Ann, Blair (Colten) Leier, Abby (Matt) Wolf, Micah Rauch and Hannah (Donald) Merriman; great-grandchildren Addison and Anna Klein, Aria and Devin Sebastian, Hayley and Charlotte Leier, and Clark and Leon Humbargar; and sister Marlys (Gary) Johnson.
She was preceded in death by her parents; daughter Claudia Humbargar; and daughter-in-law Janet Platte.
Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home & Crematory in Elma is caring for Charlotte and her family. To view the funeral home’s complete obituary and service information, please click here.
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