Charlene Novak Avrin, the daughter of William Novak and Charlotte Kenner Novak, grew up in the tiny farming town of Chelsea, on the Iowa River. She lost her mother at the age of three and was raised by her stepmother Emily Dvorak. She graduated from Chelsea High School, then studied at Iowa State Teachers' College, and earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California. While teaching kindergarten in Whittier, California, she met her future husband, Jack Avrin, to whom she was married for 68 years until his death in 2020. They lived in Ontario, California for two decades and subsequently in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. In addition to being a mother and homemaker, Mrs. Avrin taught English as a Second Language and was active in the American Association of University Women. Charlene Avrin is survived by two sons, William of San Diego, CA, and Joel of Charlotte, NC, as well as two nephews, Andrew and Jeffrey Musel, and a niece Virginia Musel.