Longtime Yellow Springs resident Charlotte Schiff passed away peacefully in her beloved home Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, just a few days shy of her 96th birthday.
Char was born and grew up near Urbana, Ohio. After high school, she married and had a son, Toby Gray, who now lives in California with his wife, Judi. Char and Toby’s father divorced, and she moved to Springfield in the early ‘50s. She started working at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 1952. Then, in 1957, she became a packaging specialist, a position she held for the next 20 years. During that time, Char traveled around the country helping in various base locations, including Montgomery, Alabama; Texas; Oklahoma; San Bernardino and Sacramento, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Macon, Georgia. While working full time, she earned a degree in business administration from Wittenberg University in 1968.
In 1977, Char became a logistic management specialist at HQ AFLAD. She joined the Society of Logistics Engineers that year, and from July until December, 1977, she attended a Program Management Course at the Defense Systems Management College in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. There was an enrollment of 117, and she was one of only four women in the course. After completing the class, she served many temporary service assignments in Washington, D.C., in addition to her position at Wright-Patterson.
In 1980, Char was one of five women who received the first Salute to Career Women award from the Dayton YWCA. The award was given to women who had achieved success in their fields, status in their organizations, and who served as role models to other women. She retired from Wright-Patterson in 1983.
In her private life, Char became interested in Judaism, reading books about the religion and attending temple in Columbus. Eventually she found her way to Temple Sholom in Springfield; and, after serious thought, she converted. Char was an active member of Temple Sholom, serving on various committees, as well as on the Temple Board. It was here that she met Ray Schiff, who had been widowed. They were married in 1979, and she moved to Yellow Springs. Char’s family expanded with the addition of Ray’s children, Susan, David and Dan. David is married to Alicia, and their daughter, Carly, was Char’s only grandchild.
Char became active in Springfield’s Art Council in 1973 and was in charge of the Summer Arts Festival in 1976. She was also involved in local music and theater. She was involved in Chamber Music of Yellow Springs from its beginning as a private organization. As was her habit, she was a tireless worker, organizing receptions and helping in whatever way she could. She was also a member of Friends Care Community and helped by putting on a number of programs.
But what Char liked most of all was to cook and to travel. Anyone who was lucky enough to be invited to the Schiff home for a meal was in for a treat! Besides being a superb cook, Char used her organizational skills to keep a running log of the meals she served, the guests included, the table setting, and how the table was arranged. A glimpse at her notebook is amazing.
She also attended many cooking classes and was so adept at preparing wonderful dishes that she was asked to try out recipes and give input for two cookbooks written by Betty Rosbottom, a nationally known cooking teacher, who wrote weekly columns for the LA Times.
Since Ray worked for Yellow Springs Instruments, many of their dinner guests were from other countries, including Japan and China, as well as many European countries. Char kept a list of who they were, and many signed her guest book. This also gave Ray and Char the opportunity to travel abroad to visit many of these new friends, which they loved to do. During their marriage, they visited 38 foreign countries, from Australia to Wales. They particularly loved France, where Ray had cousins. Char even learned French to ease their travels.
In August 2006, Char suffered a stroke, which left her with some challenges, including difficulties with speech, reading and computation. But with the support of Ray, in typical Char Schiff fashion, she worked hard at recovery and persevered. She continued to lead a full, active life without her beloved Ray, who died in 2009. She traveled often to Chicago, a city she loved, to attend theater, concerts and to shop. And shop. She belonged to an investment club, a book club and continued to improve her speech. Char remained in good spirits and was still the hard working, caring and dependable person she had always been.
Char leaves behind a very wide circle of family and friends to mourn her: Toby, Judi, Susie, Dan, David, Alicia and Carly, neighbors in Yellow Springs, fellow members from Temple Sholom, book club and investment club members, her devoted speech therapist, and caregivers from the past year. There will be a Celebration of Life gathering in Char’s memory at the home of Matthew and Karen Denman, 1370 Corry St., Yellow Springs, on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, from 1–4 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Yellow Springs Community Foundation, the Dayton Art Institute and Temple Shalom of Springfield.
