Charlanne Birdsong Johnson was born Nov. 26, 1947, in Ponca City, OK to Wayne and Alice Birdsong. She passed away peacefully in the early hours of Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, just 20 days shy of her 79th birthday.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 11 am Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2026, at First Christian Church, Ponca City, OK, following a private committal service at the Newkirk Cemetery. All arrangements are under the direction of Trout Funeral Home & Crematory of Ponca City, OK.
Charlanne grew up in Newkirk, OK, along with older brother Richard and younger brother Craig. She attended Newkirk Schools, graduating in 1966. She was homecoming queen at Newkirk High, although she would never admit to it as an adult. She attended business school in Oklahoma City before returning home to join her dad in the daily 12 mile commute to Ponca City’s Conoco offices, where she began work in the Keypunch (data entry) department.
Working through the various iterations of Conoco from the takeover by DuPont through the ultimate merger with Phillips Petroleum, Charlanne advanced out of Keypunch and eventually found a home in Telecommunications.
Although never having flown in an airplane until 1985, she quickly became a frequent flier (usually on Conoco’s own shuttle out of the Ponca City Airport), crisscrossing the country installing or servicing telecommunications equipment in various locations from New Orleans to Billings, Montana, and multiple locations throughout the Conoco world.
As T-Com was outsourced to various companies, “Charlie Jo” (as she was known by her male co-workers) worked out of the same office, checking often to see what company nameplate was on her door.
Along with her work career, she found time to get married, have a son and perform duties as a (ultimately single) mom of a super active son, Eric Wayne.
Charlanne met Foster Johnson through a shared acquaintance. They met in a group setting over Sunday evening pizza. Neither ever admitted to love at first sight, but the mutual attraction must have been strong since they gravitated closer over the ensuing months, ultimately becoming engaged, hunting for a suitable house for a blended family which would include two pre-teen boys (Eric and Perry) and a “tween” girl (Jennifer). They did all of this while fulfilling their individual work duties.
They married in December 1985 - closing the home purchase on Friday, combining the households in the snow on Friday and Saturday (with the considerable help of a group of loyal friends) before getting married on Sunday. They honeymooned by returning to work on Monday.
Charlanne eventually took early retirement in 2006, entering a new phase of her life as community volunteer, quilt maker, English as a Second Language mentor, mother, step-mother, and grandmother to a growing and diverse family while eventually being a caregiver to her parents.
To her family, Charlanne was the one you called. She was a wonderful cook, a gifted seamstress, and could fix nearly anything put in front of her. She loved flowers and had a way with anything that grew. More than one dying plant was handed over to her as a last resort and came home thriving. That was how she treated people, too. She was kind without exception, and if there was something she could do for you, she did it.
After Foster’s retirement in 2007, they prepared for the next phase of their life which included moving to Edmond, caring for her mother and trying to split time among their far-flung family with Eric in the Edmond area, Jennifer and Perry in Texas and Craig in Colorado.
Charlanne was preceded in death by parents Wayne and Alice; older brother Richard; stepson Perry Johnson; and best friend Carol Lawler (“her person”, for “Gray’s Anatomy” fans).
Survivors include her husband Foster Johnson, of the home in Edmond, OK; son Eric Richardson, his wife Kristen and their children Brogan, Margo, Ellis and Isla of Overland Park, KS.; and brother Craig Birdsong and partner Mike Shortall of Fort Collins, CO.
Also, stepdaughter Jennifer and her husband Randy Key of Big Spring, Texas; step-grandchildren Jonathan Padier-Johnson, Jackson Johnson and Treasure Ensminger-Rufenact, all of San Angelo, TX; step-grandson Noah Johnson, Dallas, Texas; step-daughter-in-law Lindsay Harper Johnson and her children, Aubree and Parker Johnson and Bryce Harper of Waco, Texas, as well as a multitude of step-grand, great-grand and a great-great grandbaby (with another on the way).
Charlanne had a big heart that had room for a multitude of causes, so memorials may be made to the charity or organization of your choice, although she was deeply committed to the Friendship Feast of Ponca City, OK, and its predecessor, Breakfast on Boulevard in Edmond, OK, as well as the literacy and ESL programs in Ponca City.