Current Board of Directors
Harry Beckous- President, 509-879-3176
Doris Kirsch- Vice President, 585-457-3315
Donna Kibler- Secretary, 585-322-0693
Rachel Ashcroft- Treasurer, 716-870-5653
Kim Bragg, 716-353-3854
Andrea Aldinger, 585-813-5130
Sandra Janes, 716-912-6029
Pat Standish, 585-943-7082
Carol Wittman, 585-344-1326
(585) 535-4065
Harry Beckous ~ President
Harry Beckous was born and raised in Chicago and
currently resides in North Java. Harry has been Chief
Executive Officer of Cromwell Industries since 2002.
Harry serves on the Boards of both Holy Family Parish
and Charlotte House. As a member of the Charlotte House
Board of Directors since the doors opened, Harry is
referred to as our “go to person” for anything needed at the house. He has also been an intricate part of the Fundraising Committee.
Harry’s life is a life of giving and among his awards is the Washington State YMCA volunteer of the year.
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Doris Kirsch~ Vice President
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Doris was born and raised on a dairy farm in the Town of
Sheldon as one of seven children born to Walter and Hattie
Becker. She married Bill Kirsch in 1965, but he sadly passed
away in 2014. Doris and Bill did not have any children however,
she is proud of her 24 nieces & nephews, 44 great nieces &
nephews and 15 great great nieces & nephews (more to come!).
Many of them were together recently to help celebrate a
milestone birthday.
Doris received her education at St. Cecilia's (Sheldon), Attica Central and SUNY Brockport. Upon graduation from college, she began a teaching career (Secondary Social Studies) at Holland Central. Doris spent the next 33 years in that position until her retirement in 1998. In 1991 a spinal injury resulted in becoming a wheelchair user and subsequent advocate for accessibility concerns. She enjoys reading, cross stitching, cooking, baseball (Dodgers) and spending time with family and friends.
Since retirement Doris has remained active in a variety of professional, political, historical and community organizations.
One of her most rewarding roles is serving as a member of the Charlotte House Board of Directors. About 5 years ago, after a visit with a friend who was a resident of an area Comfort Care House, she knew that she wanted to get involved with the opening and continuation of Charlotte House. Doris remains exceptionally proud and inspired by the success of this much needed compassionate end-of-life service in our rural setting. She considers it an honor to serve with the dedicated volunteers, board members, staff, and the community at large. Being part of the comfort and care given to each resident and his/her family brings great satisfaction to this endeavor.
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Donna Kibler ~ Secretary
Donna has been married to her husband Tom for 40 years and
they have been blessed with four kids and five grandbabies.
She lives on a farm that was once focused on dairy, but in
recent years has turned to crop farming and volunteers as a
family in the community. Donna has been employed in the
medical field for over 30- years, and currently as a medical
biller.
Donna joined Charlotte House in 2015, when her brother-in-law and Charlotte House founder, Tim Kibler asked her to join the board of directors. She has served as secretary of the board since that time and co-chair of the fundraising committee along with the Charlotte House Vice President, Harry Beckous. Donna is honored by the opportunity to watch the Charlotte House mission become a reality.
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Rachel Ashcroft ~ Treasurer
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After experiencing a few losses within her family and seeing
how difficult it is to care for a dying family member, Rachel
was drawn to Charlotte House and the amazing services the
Organization provides. After joining the Board of Directors in
2019, Rachel’s primary focus has been on the financial side of
operating a not-for-profit organization as well as providing
support at fundraising events.
Rachel graduated from SUNY Brockport Magna Cum Laude in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting. She is a Certified Public Accountant and has spent her entire career at Freed Maxick CPAs, PC, a top one hundred Accounting Firm. She is currently a Senior Manager within the Firm’s Auditing and Accounting Practice, specializing in the not for profit, healthcare, and employee benefit plan service areas. She is responsible for the overall planning, organization, supervision, and completion of audit engagements. Rachel is also involved with the Firm’s training programs, conducting training in various service areas.
Rachel lives in Sardinia, NY with her husband and two sons. In her spare time, Rachel enjoys coaching youth soccer, watching her sons race go-karts, and cheering on the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres.
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Sandy Janes
Sandy spent her childhood in Wethersfield and now lives in
North Java. She was married to her husband Bob for 41
years; he passed in 2021.
She attended college in Boston, Ma. And graduated with a
degree in Business and Marketing. After 41 years, Sandy
retired from the New York State Department of Corrections
where she worked in the Business Administrative offices. In her free time, she serves as Section Superintendent for the Home & Arts Department at the Wyoming County Fair. Sandy is currently Treasurer for Holy Family Parish.
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Kim Bragg
Kim has lived in Arcade since 1989 transplanted from
New Jersey where she grew up. Her biggest loves are
her two children Joe and Maggie.
She earned her B.S. in Communication from the
University of New Hampshire and maintains a strong,
regular connection with her UNH friends. She was the
Human Resources Manager for two Buffalo companies
and is one of the two founders of GenTech Scientific of
Arcade.
Kim has been a burger flipper, nanny, house cleaner, HR understudy, HR Manager, Business founder and company grower, and a volunteer. She currently works at Lime Lake Marine & RV and volunteers for Charlotte House in honor of her mom who passed away in 2015 and her dad in 2022.
Andrea Aldinger
Andrea is currently the Director of the Wyoming County Office
for the Aging and the Youth Bureau. She is also the Early
Intervention Official and Pre-School Special Education Director.
Andrea is a graduate of Leadership Genesee and Leadership
Wyoming. She was chosen to participate in the Buffalo FBI
Citizens Academy and remains active. Currently Andrea is part
of the Community Health Foundations Health Leadership
Fellow Program and will graduate in September 2023.
Most recently Andrea was the Board Chair for the Wyoming County United Way and is now a part of the Regional Advisory Taskforce for the United Way of Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes. She is the Board Chair for the Foundation for Community Care of Western New York (Homecare & Hospice) and a Corporate Board Member. Andrea is also the Board Chair for the Cattaraugus Wyoming Head Start, and the Wyoming County Business Education Council. As part of her work as a County Department Head she is on the Community Services Board of Wyoming County as well as the Alcohol and Substance Abuse Committee along with the Wyoming County Suicide Prevention Taskforce. She serves on Thiel Roundtable Group through the Community Health Foundation and is a member of The Charlotte House Comfort Care Board.
Andrea lives in Attica, NY and has been married to Tom for 33 years and is the mother of two grown children Tyler and Tristan.
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Pat Standish
Pat was born in North Java and has lived in the same home in
Strykersville for the last 55 years. Her husband Tom has passed
but she enjoys time spent with her children Kris and Troy, and
her five grandchildren. When not working or painting, Pat
enjoys working in her gardens, traveling with friends, and
volunteering in her community.
Pat recently retired as founder and coordinator Angel Action and Community Action Angels NY after 25 years. In this position she developed programs and provided technical assistance and capacity building training to 57 Community Action Agencies and 37 New American Opportunity Centers across New York State. In recent years Pat co-authored and illustrated a series of eight storybooks focused on improving the social and emotional wellness in children. The latest, now in eleven languages, to identify developmental milestones in children birth to five born to non-English speaking families.
Pat is currently working as a consultant for non-profit organizations. She is a graduate of Bryant and Stratton and a Cornell University certified teacher of Family Development and FDC for Leaders and has served on a number of boards including founding member of Community Action for Wyoming County, New York State Community Action Association, New York State Family Development Association, New York Connects, United Way, SPCA and founding member of Charlotte House Comfort Care. Among her awards are the NYS Senate Woman of Distinction, Pi State, NYS Delta Kappa Gamma Friends of Education Award, NYS Leadership Award, Leadership Wyoming Alumnae Leader Award, National CAP Jayne Thomas Award and named Buffalo/Western New York Business First, Woman of Influence.
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Carol Wittman
Carol resides in Honeoye, NY. (Finger Lake Region) having
moved from Batavia in 2022. She is a graduate of Notre Dame
High School and Genesee Community College. Carol is a
member of St. Mary’s Church where she serves as a Sunday
Mass greeter and volunteers at the church’s clothes closet
which provides clothing free to families in and around the area.
Carol’s career spanned from working as a stenographer at Genesee County Probation Department to a Customer Service Rep at Farm Credit East in Batavia. She took 12 years off to raise her family and eventually retired in 2015. She is the mother of two daughters, Holly who is married to Michael Stoddard and resides in town of Richmond and Jennifer, who is engaged and residing in San Antonio, Texas.
Carol’s path of involvement as a Charlotte House board member was by a different route than most others. Her late husband, Dennis was the second resident at Charlotte House in March 2020. At the time Holly and Jennifer and Carol knew very little about a Comfort Care home but upon Dennis’ arrival that all changed. The staff and volunteers greeted the entire family with open arms. The love, care and compassion given to their family was beyond what I could imagine.
After Dennis’ passing, Carol still made trips to Charlotte House (drop off a donation or two) and applied to become a member of the board. She was welcomed by the Board in the fall of 2020 and having personally experienced Comfort Care, she brings a unique perspective on issues/concerns. Even though time has passed, Carol still tears up when she talks to others about Charlotte House. It will always be close and dear to her entire family.
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What can you and your family can expect when coming to the Charlotte House?
A team of individuals all working together with you and your family to create an atmosphere of all the best parts of being home. Our staff and volunteers are here to assist you as much or as little as you are personally comfortable with. In our experience, the more the family is involved the family members are, the more at home a resident will feel. We realize that every family dynamic is different and working together we will create a plan that works best.
Charlotte House is a comfort care home located in Wyoming County for individuals who are terminally ill and wish to live in comfort, receive quality care and support from staff, family and trained volunteers.
Comfort Care homes all work on the same model: end-of-life care at no cost to the resident or family.
A hospice or certified nursing agency supports the care with nursing, social work, chaplain and aide visits. Each home operates independently and determines who best matches the parameters of the services offered.
When Charlotte House accepts a resident from a hospital or nursing home, all information regarding residents will be provided from the discharge agency. When residents are coming in from a home, a Charlotte House representative will visit the home to assess the potential resident.
