Charmaine M. Pearson, 90, of Alameda, CA, peacefully passed away on December 17, 2023. Charmaine was born on May 26, 1933, to Eloi and Lillian Vergez. After graduating from Alameda High School, Charmaine married Fortune Facchin and had two children, Celeste and Craig Facchin.
Later in life, Charmaine graduated from California State University, East Bay (Hayward) with a degree in art. Soon after graduating, Charmaine started teaching art at Alameda High School. She taught for 23 years. She loved educating her students about the world of art. Being a teacher and artist was number one in Charmaine’s life and gave her so much joy.
Charmaine expanded her education by earning a master’s degree from the California College of Arts and Crafts (later known as California College of the Arts) in Oakland. It was there that Charmaine discovered her trademark medium, watercolor. She was known for her sunlight and shadow dinner table arrangements of flowers, china, and family crystal.
Charmaine’s paintings hung in shows across the United States and Japan. She received numerous First Place, Best of Show, and Best of Category awards at national juried exhibits and shows. Her artwork was displayed in galleries in California, Arizona, and New York. She was a member of the National Association of Women Artists, signature member of the National Watercolor Society, and the 1989 recipient of the distinguished Grumbacher award. Charmaine’s highest honor was having two of her paintings hanging in the Smithsonian American Art Museum. During the last year of life, Charmaine loved talking to people about her paintings that were displayed on the walls of her apartment at Waters Edge Assisted Living facility in Alameda.
Charmaine was predeceased by her son, Craig Facchin, her mother, Lillian Vergez, and her father, Eloi Vergez. She is survived by her daughter, Celeste Schultz, her grandson, Ralph Hicks III, her great grandchildren, Scarlett Hicks, Violet Hicks, and Kannon Hicks, her son-in-law, James Schultz, and her grand daughter-in-law, Holly Hicks.
Per her wishes, no services will be held. Charmaine will be laid to rest next to her second husband, the love of her life, Marvin “Stretch” Person, at the Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland. Her family would like to thank Water’s Edge Assisted Living and Suncrest Hospice for their outstanding care, enabling Charmaine to live out her remaining days in Alameda.
