Communities united in grief

Diane Chart touched many lives here and in the Northwoods

                  “I was reminded today once again about how circular life is. We are born, we live, many of us reproduce, and we die. Is it really that simple? A simple circle implies that humanity lives a circle separate from nature and environment. Circular interdependence seems to better describe this process because it takes into account how one life depends on others.”

– Diane Chart,

writing in the August newsletter for the Northwoods Wildlife Center

By Ed Nadolski

Editor in Chief

                  Even though Burlington and the Northwoods community of Minocqua are separated by nearly 300 miles of the state’s lakes, rivers, cities, villages, highways and hills, the two communities – for the time being – appear to be one in profound sadness.

                  Burlington mourns for the loss of a native daughter who taught many what it means to embrace a community with grace and concern. And Minocqua mourns for an adopted and enthusiastic hockey mom who found her true calling as executive director of a wildlife rehab center.

                  That the subject of such an outpouring is Diane Chart comes as no surprise to those who knew her best. That she’s suddenly gone, however, is a searing hurt that will take years to heal, friends and family members said.

                  “We know life will never be the same,” her sister Lisa Tenhagen said Tuesday, noting that she was privileged to grow up alongside her big sister playing games like Kick the Can in a “phenomenal” Burlington neighborhood. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.

                  “I know everything happens for a reason, but it’s going to take a long time to figure this one out.”

A fatal crash

                  Chart, 51, who has lived in the Minocqua area for the past eight years, died Saturday as the result of a car crash while doing what she did so naturally – serving others.

                  She and her son, Dylan, 15, had driven to Milwaukee to pick up Tomas, an exchange student from Argentina whom she and her husband Steve were hosting at their home in Winchester.

                  As they left the airport about 5 p.m., according to published reports, the Toyota Corolla Chart was driving turned left from South 27th Street in Greenfield onto West Coldspring Road and into the path of a pickup truck driven by a Milwaukee woman.

                  The resulting collision pushed one of the vehicles into a stoplight that crashed into a third vehicle that was stopped at the intersection.

                  According to an account published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, when emergency personnel arrived Chart wasn’t breathing and had no pulse. Greenfield Police Capt. Michael Brunner told the newspaper that rescuers were able to revive Chart, but she died later at Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa.

                  Dylan Chart and Tomas were also taken to Froedtert where they were initially listed in critical condition, Brunner is quoted as saying.

                   Dylan was later transferred to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin where he was removed from the intensive care unit Tuesday and had his condition upgraded to stable, Tenhagen said.

                  She said her family has little information regarding Tomas, 19. Because he is an adult and the Chart family is not directly related, the hospital cannot release the information. His parents were expected to arrive in Wisconsin from Argentina Tuesday.

                  The 70-year-old woman whose truck collided with Chart’s car was treated at a Milwaukee area hospital and released.

                  The crash remained under investigation as of early this week. Neither alcohol or excessive speed appear to be a factor and all involved were wearing seatbelts, Brunner was quoted as saying.

Word travels fast

                  It didn’t take long for word of Chart’s death to reach both Minocqua and Burlington. The outpouring of support since then has been overwhelming, according to Tenhagen.

                  “She was truly a wonderful person,” she said. “It’s amazing how many lives she touched.”

                  Chart was the oldest daughter to Jim and Marge Crowley. She grew up in an idyllic Burlington neighborhood with her sisters Jackie Riggs and Tenhagen. Chart had two daughters from her first marriage – Rebecca, 28, and Jessica, 26, Schouten.

                  She spent most of her professional life in the banking industry, rising to the position of branch manager before moving to the Minocqua area in the mid 2000s with Steve and her two young sons, Dylan and Austin, now 13.

                  There she continued to work as a bank manager. She also continued her track record for community service as a member of the Rotary Club, an ardent supporter of youth sports and a board member at the Northwoods Wildlife Center.

                  When the wildlife center lost its executive director in early 2011, Chart volunteered to step in as the interim director while a search for a replacement was conducted. It didn’t take long, however, for Chart to decide to seek the position full time, according to Northwoods’ board President Geri Miller.

                  “She brought this skill set to the center that we didn’t know we needed,” Miller said Tuesday by phone from Minocqua. “And before long she found what she considered her true calling.”

Big shoes to fill

                  While Chart’s financial background enabled her to put the center on a secure fiscal path, it was her love of nature and willingness to embrace even the most undesirable aspects of wildlife rehab that made her special, Miller said.

                  “It’s big shoes to fill, but what she left us with is this incredible system and a very well defined future path,” Miller added. “The center will thrive because of her.

                  “And it’s not just us – it’s Rotary and the hockey association. She was all about mentoring, compassion and leadership – the best hockey mom on the planet.”

                  Dylan and Austin quickly became acquainted with the winter sport after moving to the area and their mother helped make sure it was a quality experience for them and many others in the community, Miller said.

                  While Chart left a caring mark on both Burlington and Minocqua, it’s her family – her husband, sons, daughters, parents and sisters – who feel the greatest loss, Tenhagen said.

                  “When they moved up there, we (family members) had our two weekends a year to go up and visit – once in summer and once in winter,” Tenhagen said. “She always wanted to show everybody the best of times.

                  “To think that won’t happen again is gut-wrenching.”

Funeral arrangements for Diane Chart are pending at Schuette-Daniels Funeral Home, Burlington. Visit the website www.danielsfamilyfuneral.com or www.myracinecounty.com for updates.