Charlotte Coffield, a lifelong resident of Lyttonsville and tireless community activist, died Thursday. She was 91.
Born in 1933, she grew up in Silver Spring during a time when African Americans were restricted to where they could live, were not allowed to eat in white’s only restaurants and couldn’t try on clothing in stores. If she touched the item, she had to buy it, she recalled.
On social media, U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin wrote, “Terribly saddened to learn of the passing of Charlotte Coffield, a magnificent MoCo community activist and a Local Hero. May the memory of this remarkable woman be a blessing to her family and our community.” He called her the matriarch of Lyttonsville three years when he designated her a community hero.
When Coffield grew up in Lyttonsville, the African American community there had to cross the Talbot Avenue Bridge to get to stores, public transportation and often the Silver Spring homes they were hired to clean.
“I called it our lifeline to civilization,” she said of the bridge. “I’ve traveled a lot, but my roots are deep here. My grandfather helped us get the two-room schoolhouse,” she attended in Lyttonsville, Coffield noted several years ago.
The bridge was removed for the Purple Line, but its girders were saved and are expected to be used in a future Lyttonsville park.
Visitation will be held Sept. 23 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Francis J. Collins Funeral Home in Silver Spring. Her funeral will be at 11 a.m. on Sept. 24. It will be live streamed at https://www.twitch.tv/
Coffield also was instrumental in helping the deaf community and creating a Lyttonsville Museum inside the Coffield Community Center, which was named for her sister. The Coffield family has lived in the Lyttonsville area since the early 1900s.
When she worked for the U.S. Department Health, Education and Welfare, which no longer exists, Coffield worked with the deaf community and taught herself what she called “finger spelling.” She was instrumental in getting them the technology to be able to use the telephone.
She credits her work with interpreting for the deaf community in opening doors that were closed to her as she was welcomed into areas where African Americans or women weren’t permitted.
In 2019, Coffield received the Roscoe R. Nix award from Montgomery County.
Her write up for the award noted, “Activist and advocate Charlotte Coffield serves as a shining example of what one person can do to make the world a better place. As President of the Lyttonsville Community Civic Association, Dr. Coffield has been a leader on historic preservation, transportation and land use and planning issues. She has lobbied for urban renewal funds to pave roads, provide running water, and construct new homes and was instrumental in saving Rosemary Hills Elementary School from closure. “
Through her life, she was involved in numerous community activities, including Head Start, the Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board, the Rosemary Hills Community School Council and the Gwendolyn Coffield Community Center Seniors Advisory Committee.
Sad news that our friend Charlotte Coffield of the Lyttonsville community in Silver Spring, has passed away. An extraordinary woman, the tallest tree in the forest. May her memory be a blessing. I loved her and will miss her always. pic.twitter.com/LbCbHoq78s
— Alan Bowser (@AlanBowser) September 12, 2024
Photo courtesy of Alan Bowser’s X page
