Multiple generations of the Bloomington community gathered at Switchyard Park Pavilion Thursday afternoon for a memorial celebrating the life of Charlotte Zietlow, a political activist who dedicated her life to civil engagement.
The memorial included speeches from Bloomington leaders, former Indiana legislators, a former IU first lady and Zietlow’s friends and family. Attendees were provided index cards to write memories of Zietlow to be given to her family. Musician Carrie Newcomer gave a live performance, and Lara Lynn Weaver and Kevin MacDowell — stage named Kid Kazooey — performed an original song that referenced Zietlow’s life and work to preserve the Monroe County Courthouse.
Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thomson gave opening remarks, while former Mayor Mark Kruzan introduced several speakers.
Zietlow died in November 2025 at 91 years old. She got her start in Democratic politics by knocking doors for presidential candidate John F. Kennedy in 1960, launching a career that lasted over six decades.
After spending about a year in Czechoslovakia and becoming further inspired to participate in local government, Zietlow returned to Bloomington in the late 1960s. In 1971, she was elected to city council, becoming the first woman to do so. She served as council president the following year.
Zietlow was known for her wide range of interests beyond politics. She co-founded Goods for Cooks, a cookware and home goods store in downtown Bloomington. She became a pillar in the city’s civic life and led the way for the courthouse’s preservation.
Thomson and Kruzan both spoke about Zietlow’s community involvement.
“I half expected she might show up, because she was everywhere,” Kruzan said during his speech. “All the way up until her 90th annual, Charlotte attended seemingly every community event, government meeting, and social function in our city and county.”
Former Indiana State Sen. Vi Simpson highlighted Zietlow’s push to get women into local government through her tenacity — a trait other speakers continued to reference.
Former Indiana state representative Marilyn Schultz, who founded Goods for Cooks with Zietlow in 1973, spoke about Zietlow’s support of her political career and recalled traveling back and forth from Chicago with Zietlow to get cookware.
Laurie McRobbie, Indiana University’s 18th first lady, said Zietlow “saw barriers as possibilities, as opportunities for collaboration and positive growth.”
McRobbie said Zietlow’s wide range of interests helped her form a web of connections, echoing Kruzan's sentiment that he half expected to see Zietlow in attendance at the memorial.
“She must be here, because we’re all here.” McRobbie said.
Zietlow’s longtime colleague in Goods for Cooks, Lynn Schwartzberg, said Zietlow encouraged her to teach one of her first cooking classes in the 1980s. Schwartzberg spoke about going from learning from Zietlow to helping care for her in her final years, which she called “the greatest gift.”
Although the crowd was engaged the entire memorial, they had the most visceral reactions, nodding and wiping away tears with Summer Shields as she recounted getting to know Zietlow after being paired through Help at Home, an organization that provides in-home care to mostly seniors or disabled individuals.
“There were moments when I didn't know what to think or do next, and Charlotte helped me carry it,” Shields said. “She never let me go alone.”
In an interview with the Indiana Daily Student, Shields described becoming close with Zietlow.
“I was at the lowest point in my life, I had just lost a grandparent and found out I was pregnant,” Shields told the IDS. “And Charlotte pushed me beyond my limits to become something more. About a month before she died, she made me enroll into college, and now I'm about to go into nursing school.”
Shields said in her speech she knew a different, more private side of Zietlow — a “Charlotte who didn’t have to be Charlotte.”
Shields said Zietlow had once encouraged her to drive onto the sidewalk so Zietlow could avoid a long walk into a building, saying she’d pay any ticket if they were stopped. One day after that, Shields said, Zietlow chided her for not using a seatbelt.
“I wish she could see how many people came here because you mattered to them, because you made a difference in their lives, because somewhere along the way you became a part of their story, and I know you know how much you became a part of mine,” Shields said in her speech.
Shields’ remarks were punctuated by a standing ovation.
Zietlow’s children, Nathan and Rebecca, spoke about their mother’s influence on their family, with Rebecca describing how her mother taught her the importance of self-awareness, self-care and engaging in civil service.
Rebecca, shared lyrics from “Grandmother” by Big Thief in her speech, saying the song made her think of her mom.
“I saw sun through the clouds // I saw love through any pain // Gonna turn it all into rock and roll // Gonna turn it all into rock and roll,” Rebecca quoted from the song. “I feel like that's what Mom did.”
Thomson returned to give a closing speech and shared how Zietlow had influenced her outfit choice for the memorial — a butterfly cape — saying Zietlow “wore me down in my cocoon before helping me launch.”
Even when Thomson visited Zietlow in the hospital four days before she died, Thomson said, Zietlow asked what else she could do to serve the city.
Before ending her remarks, Thomson said when someone close to her dies, especially a teacher, she considers it her work to “keep them living.”
“I still wake up every day and think about Charlotte, the work that we're still doing,” Thomson said. "I just encourage you all to put your butterfly capes on and share some more of Charlotte every day, because she continues to change our community.”
