In Memoriam Charlotte Barnett

Thank you for everything madam. May your soul rest in eternal peace.

Thank you for all the unforgetable memories!
I will always remember you and keep you my heart!

I have been only a counselor for 6 years in ITC.
But as soon as I met Mme Barnett I have been impressed by her. Such a personnel, full of energy and love. Kind of personnel who change you for life and you can't never forget.
I will always remind you and I am pretty sure that you are still taking care of us where you are.
All my thoughts to her family.
Toutes mes condoléances à la famille de Mme.Barnett

You will be missed. Thoughts and prayers are with your family.
IJC 81-83

I will miss You very much. Love forever

I am forever grateful for having known you. The lessons that you taught me at ITC have been embedded throughout my life. Sharing meals, activities, games, classes, dances with people from all over the world has shown me how much we are all the same despite our cultural, religious, geographical or political differences. Whenever we spoke at your office, I was always surprised (shocked really) that you knew exactly what was going on. You had such an understanding of the kids and what drove us. You were smart, kind-hearted, funny and warm. Thank you for all those years of running ITC - a formidable task. You are in my heart forever. Alan, John and families, my sincere condolences for the loss of your mother. She was one of a kind!

I just learned of her passing, as I today joined a ITC facebook group... I am sorry for your loss. Madame Barnett was a force to be reckoned with, and while she and I didn't always see eye to eye, she was a very fair and kind lady

You probbaly don´t know me. I was a camper in 1991 and 1992 I believe and then became a counselor for a couple of years. I am from Barcelona Spain, used to come with my cousins and it was the best we could happen in our lifes.... going to ITC!. Now married with a kid living in southern baja in Mexico los cabos.

I just read the news on Facebook (as you can see, I am not addicted to it), but these news made me sad and produced me a similar feeling as when I left ITC every year.

She did a lot for yourng people, for the education and for the Camp. I am sending you all a big hug wishing a good life. I wanted to write an e-mail to Mr Bernard, so if you can please send me his e-mail I will highly appreciated. Mine is javiernoguera@alegranza.com.mx

hugs and respect

Mme Barnett...without question, the single most crucial factor that led us (Karin and me) to a lifelong shared path. Thank you BTT for providing the setting, the encouragement, the soft nudges in the right direction, the important camp missions that required hours of our time together. Thank you mostly for having a profound effect on our lives. The good spirit and positive influence relentlessly lives on and is passed on.

Reading through the entries has sparked countless fond memories; so many wonderful people with Mme Barnett as the common thread.

Unforgetable!!!

larmes cachées derrière les lunettes de soleil;
ainsi qu'elle l'a toujours fait les jours de départ des campeurs,
une tasse à café noir dans sa main droite et une clope entre les doigts.

chantons, mes amis, qui vous êtes n'importe où sur notre belle terre!
chantons tous ensemble et de grand coeur!
chantons de gaité de coeur
avec Gilbert Bécaud:

"Toi pour qui, donnant-donnant
J'ai chanté ces quelques lignes
Comme pour te faire un signe en passant
Dis à ton tour maintenant
Que la vie n'a d'importance
Que par une fleur qui danse
Sur le temps...

L'important c'est la rose
L'important c'est la rose
L'important c'est la rose
Crois-moi"

À Dieu, Mme Barnett!

FilmMensch! (i.e. Hartmut Riehm, Bonn, Allemagne)

Grazie per avermi fatto vivere quegli indimenticabili anni....per sempre nel mio cuore

Han pasado muchos años desde 1984, mi primer campus en ITC, y a pesar de ello la sigo recordando y respetando como la primera vez.
Descanse en Paz

I met Madame Barnett in 1981 and still think about her and about all the incredible things that happened to me during summer camp. I enjoyed meeting so many nice persons in one place. She will be missed...

Alejandro Zapata
alezap@yahoo.com
+1 305 588-4754

Madame thank you for everything. I wish I would call you once again to tell you what a major impact you have had on my life and so many others. A great woman to look up to, a woman who shaped my world with her love, kindness and wisdom. Thank you for everything, it was truly an honour for me.

May you rest well. With all my love
Constantinos

Madame Barnett....I LOVE YOU. Those are the only words that I can think of......

even though i haven't seen her for nearly 18 years i was deeply saddened by this news of her passing away, Mme Barnett was the type of person you only get to meet once during a life time and the kind of person that will have a profoundly positive effect on your personality. She made me a better boy back then which in turn made me a better man today. She may have passed away but her legacy lives on in all of us. Rest in Peace Mme Barnett....

Dear Mme Barnett,
I do not think I was the easiest of campers. At the time I did not realize how important ITC and thereby you would become to me as I grew older. True, ITC was fun, a great place to be, to meet new people, to make friends and create everlasting memories. But ITC became to mean more to me than just that. It became the place where I got the chance to be just me and found out that that was ok. I do not know whether this is what you intended when you started ITC, but it is something I am now passing on to my sons Thijmen en Joep and they are turning out to be great persons in their own right because of this. ITC also became an example for me of how the world could be. Of course campers at first would bring their own ideas, backgrounds and views on the world with them but in the end everybody would always get along. These days the world seems to be more complicated and whenever I catch myself thinking how different "the others" are, I remind myself of ITC, how the world could be and how it should be. Mme Barnett, I thank you for ITC, for the memories and for the way your dream has enriched both my life and me as a person.

Hello Everyone, Friends, Counsellors, Campers we all lost the Mother of the Camp ! No words to say how deep is our emotion. If you just met her once or spent 10 summers with her like me we all have today this light in our hearts, the light only a charismatic great Lady like her could give us. This light is made of friendship, love and hope, this light showed us the way when we were teenagers.
See you Mrs Barnett we miss you terribly, but we'll follow this light for the rest of our lives.
Fabrice
1974-1975 1978-1985

C'est avec une immense tristesse que je voudrais présenter mes plus sincères condoléances à la famille, aux collègues et à toutes les personnes qui lui étaient chères.

Je garderai toujours à l'esprit l'image d'une femme dévouée, passionnée par son travail et par le bien-être des enfants. Elle nous laisse à tous de merveilleux souvenirs au camp ITC en sa compagnie. C’était une grande dame!!

Je prends une vive part à votre chagrin !

Daniel Brigger

RIP Madame Barnette... ITC was the best month, opening my eyes to the world... Know that you made a big difference, shaping the lives if many across the globe. Your spirit will love on forever.

Dear Mme Barnett,
Being at ITC was like being in paradise. ITC has given me so many lovely memories and friends. Thank you for having created such a wonderful place! You were the great mother of it all and you will always be remembered.
Many thoughts to John, Alain and your families.

Winter 1966 « buffet de la Gare » in Fribourg…this is the first time I have met Madame Barnett. I was having an interview for the job of “moniteur” at ITC. Very quickly I could feel that Mrs Barnett wanted me to be part of the staff of the very first season of ITC. Late June 66, I opened the door of the “International world” in Chailly-sur-Lausanne. For me…a vast horizon was offered to my eyes, to my mind, to my soul…
With the complete confidence of Madame Barnett, I totally immersed myself in ITC world. Year after year, we were working a lot, the trust and cooperation established between her and me became wider and stronger.
Authoritarian, yes she was, but with the aim of giving to the camper s and “moniteurs” the sense and the will of achievement and improvement, the sense of individual responsibility.
Kind hearted, yes she was. Campers and counselors were afraid of her, but in the same time they loved her because they could feel that she had a great respect for them. We could rely on her anytime.
During all those years of cooperation and friendship in the frame of ITC and IJC our conversation, exchange, dialogue went on further and further from business to education, from politics to religions, a philosophy always looking for a space of mutual understanding, for a discovery of the “other”..
Arguments… we had, but we were always, in deep respect of the other, looking for a suitable solution.
A week before her departure, on the phone she said to me: “ Bernard, Bernard, I want to go now , I want to go.”
We have learned a lot from each other during all those intense years of working together with and for the young generations.
I would like to end this letter now with the words of John Lennon, words carrying the symbol of the spirit of ITC and IJC….Madame Barnett liked that song very much…
“Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace

You, you may say
I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world

You, you may say
I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will live as one “
your friend, Bernard

It has been a privilege to share Mme Barnett's Dream, uniting an extraordinary family of friends and companions. This bound, as an expression of herself, her style, distinction and humor...will continue and prosper for ever.
Will all my affection and Love to your dearest.

After being away for 2 weeks, I just found out from Bernard and I am so sorry for your loss John, Allan, Monica and Beatrice. Your mom meant so much to me and was such an important part of my life for so long; her words of wisdom, her caring and her guidance have had such a strong and meaningful impact on who I am today. I will never forget the wonderful years at ITC, our late night chats at "chez Charlotte" (that's how we called her room at ITC), our little mid-day escapades at Mojonnier, her heartfelt "Pro Christa Pana", her uncanny knowledge of everything that went on in camp, her generosity, her unconditional love for her "pussinkas" (her boys) and for us all, the twinkle in her eyes when she laughed, her genuine concern for everyone, I could go on and on .... but suffice to say that she will always be remembered with love, by so many of us that were privileged and lucky enough to have been part of her life. I will never forget you my dearest Mme Barnett and will cherish the happy memories forever. John, Allan and your families, my deepest condoleances. Words cannot describe the sadness I feel....
With all my love
Nicole

I am unable to find words or a way to explain the deep sadness I have, it is so immense. She was larger than life for me, she and Bernard and Rose-Marie all influenced me, my personality changed for the good, I am a better person now due to her guidance and approach to life- I don't know what to say though I want to say a lot, a rare instance for me, but I love Mdm Barnett and ITC and will forever. My friends from ITC I love you too and haven't forgotten anything we did together. Pictures prove it.
Former Camper 1981-1986
Former MR. ITC and everything else. SERDAR

Chère Madame Barnet,
Il y a 25 ans, j'ai découvert le monde d'ITC. A travers d'ITC, j'ai découvert que le monde pouvait être riche d'amitiés et de découvertes pour autant que l'on s'y investisse.
Pour tout ceci et beaucoup d'autres choses encore, je vous remercie du fond du coeur. Que vous puissiez reposer en paix après avoir tant partagé!

Chère Mme Barnett - je vous ai visité avec ma fille Sandra quelques jours avant votre départ,
Je garde un bon souvenir de vous et de tous les amis que j'ai rencontré par ITC
Merci beaucoup - et au revoir!

Plein de beaux souvenirs reviennent à ma mémoire....
Toutes mes condoléances et mes meilleures pensées à John, Alan et leurs proches.

Mme Barnett, thanks for the lovely memories and for creating ITC and being an inspiration for so many generations of people from around the world

I will never forget the beutiful days, sweet memories ... i will never forget the loving , caring eyes of Mme Barnett. she is strickt but full of love inside..... a great mother to every body .... i pray for you to rest in peace and calm.
Always in my heart
Good bye Mme Barnett.

I am so sadden by the passing of our very dearest, special, wise, irreplaceable Madame Barnett. The thought of her no longer being with us brings tears to my eyes and makes my heart sink. My summers at ITC were so so so special and had a great impact on who I am today, I remember them so vividly ... the best summers of my teen years! I hear her laugh, I see her smiley face, she welcomed each and everyone with open arms. She had a big heart and had time for each and everyone. The team of Mme Barnett and Bernard produced a big happy ITC family; the atmosphere was just amazing and full of life. I also recall our chats with the most recent being this spring! She always longed for peace all over the world and proved in ITC that we were all just the same people who enjoyed life and one another and had a whale of a time at ITC... if only ...
My condolences to John, Alan and their families. I am thinking of you at this very sad and difficult time. Madame Barnett will be truly missed.
God bless .... Lina

it is so sad to loose such a wonderful person like you.Even though it has been a while from the last time I met you,but you will always be in my heart and mind.my experience at ITC was life changing for me,by meeting wonderful,amazing ,caring person like you.We all will miss you.may you rest you in peace.

she was one of a kind , big big heart , i realy dont know what to say other than may she rest in peace .

Madame Barnett could handle all situations and persons with grace. She launched many ships onto seas that even she did not know of but trusted her fundamental instinct for doing the right thing. Bernard's teamwork with Madame Barnett cannot be understated, these two were the dynamic duo. ITC will go on for many decades due to her wisdom and dedication. ITC 1966.

Madame Barnett,

You create a wonderful place of peace calling ITC.
We all will never forget YOU and ITC.
Thanks for all those great moments.
For John, Alan and their families, all our condolences.

Please pardon me, because I cannot stop crying while I write this.
Like every mother, Mme. Barnett, the only name I ever used for her, could drive us crazy. But, I have loved her from the moment we met her until the moment when I will no longer remember anything.

She was my surrogate Mum for a time, my favorite auntie, my friend, my confidant, my advisor, my mentor. All at an age when it was so important to me.
I am blessed, and a better person, for having known her.

I thank John (and Alain), for sharing your mum with me!
And I am so thankful that she shared her most precious possession with me, her son, as a lifelong legacy as my dear friend.

God bless Charlotte.
And God bless her small Swiss family, and her huge family around the world, in this time of sorrow.

Thank you Mme Barnett for the best summers of my life and for founding ITC the best place in the world to make lifetime friends...we all love you.....
You will always be in our hearts....FOREVER......AND........EVER

May your soul Rest In Peace in a glorious heaven......

Thank you for founding ITC
Thank you for many summers of joy and fun in Lausanne
Thank you for teaching us respect and understanding
Your ideas and your power to realize them made the world a little better
RIP - Good memories will last forever
So sorry for you John and Alan – you had such a great mom!
With Love from Edelgard

Thank you Madame Barnett. For shaping our lives, and for making the world a better place. "Imagine there's no countries...and the world will live as one."

We all will have to listen to the song Forever Young and remember the great times. At ITC campers and counselors knew everything was OK because Madame Barnett was watching over the details. Everyday she was looking out for us... so we could have a great summer. We hope she is finally resting in peace. Love, Kevin

My condolences .

Un honor haber conocido y haber trabajado para una persona así. Solo tengo buenos recuerdos de ella. Os contaré tres:

- El día de la fiesta sorpresa de su cumpleaños, en que toqué y cantamos el cumpleaños feliz para ella y los "invitados" justo en el momento en que ella descubría que habían preparado la fiesta, con invitados venidos de todo el mundo para estar con ella en ese día.

- Cómo se enfadaba si no nos comíamos toda la comida en el campamento, aunque ya teníamos veintitantos... Venía de otros tiempos duros, y consideraba que no estaba bien dejarse comida en el plato. Tenía unos principios muy muy fuertes. Pero en el fondo le hacía gracia ver cómo nos las ingeniábamos para que no se diera cuenta de que no nos lo comíamos todo. Para nosotros era parte de la diversión.

- La última vez que la vi: Paco Montanes y yo nos íbamos del campamento. Él, como siempre, la hacía reír hablándole como si quisiera conquistarla. Nos despedimos en la puerta. Le dimos un abrazo. Cuando salíamos, yo conducía, ella se quedó en la puerta para vernos marchar. Paco riéndose me dijo que diera la vuelta, así que hicimos una maniobra absurda de dar una vuelta completa al patio del campamento con el coche. Ella se quedó extrañada al ver que volvíamos. Paco y yo bajamos donde ella estaba y le dimos otro abrazo.

You liked it a lot I regret that I didn't make it to Baden.
May your love and spirit continue to spread its wings in your friends all over the world.
Andre

¡Qué Señora!
Descanse en paz.

Dear Barnett and ITC friends,
These are times for tears, laughs and remembrance. I hope that we can reunite in not so distant future to go memory lane and sing one more “Wahda, wahda, wahda” in Mme. Barnett’s honor.
Abrazos, Patty
------
If I could have one more conversation with Mme. Barnett, I would go over my memories of the first session at ITC in the summer 1986 and ask her take on them.
• “I love how you girls laugh out loud”, she whispered to Ann and I in the midst of the first lunch for counselors of the second session who were silent like a tomb before campers arrived. The counselors thought that if she had gotten up to come to us, she was going to admonish us.
• Skirt for tennis
• No leading the soccer activity for girl counselors
• Climb roofs, walk through windows, ride food elevators
I enjoyed so much camp, but I was definitely frustrated, if not mad, at the restrictive comments. I thought I was going to be kicked out of camp for arguing about them. But after two sessions, Mme. Barnet said good bye inviting me to come the following year. This was my first lesson on accepting people for how and who they are.
I would like to thank her for letting me be a kid at the same time that she was expecting from me responsible work with the campers
Thanks to her, I have very complicated reunions since they are all international affairs and … I love it.
Then I would try to tackle the bigger questions. How did she have the courage to take so many of us, let us do so many things without fear of losing respect and credibility, or us getting hurt? She was such a down to earth person that could accept the risks involved in living life at its fullest.
At the end of our conversation, we would hug and we both would be crying our hearts out. We are both such softies …

Thanks for all the great memories and times. The times and memories of my summers in ITC will live forever. You are a great a kind soul that will live forever in all of us that had the great pleasure to know you

Rest in peace Mme Barnett!
Thank You for all those memorable memories!

RIP Mme Barnett. Lots of great memories at ITC 2000 in Lausanne. The best 4 weeks of my life all thanks for her and the team.

Lots of great memories come to my mind when I think about you Madame. Merci, mil fois merci. My condolences to her family.

You tought us how to live together in harmoney, peace, and how to forget our different backgrounds. You brought out the human in us.
I will always remember you, and forever be thankful.

Dear Mme Barnett,
We cannot find the words to describe the admiration we had for you, what an amazing woman! It is because of you that we all shared incredible moments and became part of a wonderful big family, part of your special family. Thank you for such a gift!
You will always be in our hearts!
All the love from Aróstegui's family!

Rarely would life be generous enough to present us with a person like Mme. Barnett. I wish she had influenced everybody the way she influenced me.
she will always be present with us. It's our duty to her memory to spread the love, joy, understanding and multiculturalism that she engraved in us.
May her soul rest in peace.

Thank you for the wonderful summers that were a defining, irreplaceable part of our childhood and early adolescent years. Your memory lives on through the many friendships that we made that are still precious to this day. Rest in peace.

We would like to extend our deepest condolences to Mme Barnett's family and loved ones. Please know that she will never be forgotten.

Saya & Jurei Yada (IJC/ITC '00-'03)

Mme. Barnett had vision and passion that started with her own family. That vision and passion brought all of us – people from all over the world – together as part of her extended family. She taught us life lessons: to work together, to understand each other, to value our similarities and differences, to be able to disagree without being disagreeable, and to live harmoniously together regardless of where we come from. And her vision and passion lives on through us, and those same values that we pass on to future generations. Even now, separated by time and distance, we gather to celebrate what she has done for so many. Mme. Barnett did not set out to change the world. But she did. John and Alan – we all grieve with you in shared loss.

Mme Barnett,
Une seule session d'été m'a permis de rencontrer une femme riche de valeurs, qui s'avait les faire respecter. Je garde d'excellent souvenirs.
JTC/ITC se souviendront de vous à jamais.
Merci pour toutes cette énergie apportée à votre entourage.
God Bless You.

Thank you Mme Barnett for a life that has made ripples.
May you live forever in God's grace.

dearest Mme Barnett, thank you for everything u have done for all of us... IJC/ITC has made my life so precious...

My deepest condolences to the family.

Mme Barnett was a truly remarkable individual...full of energy and love for everybody!

Thank you for all the amazing memories.

Bon voyage........je place cette photo de nous.......this picture is worth a thousand words

C'était une dame unique.Mes sincères condoléances à toute la famille Barnett, Allan et sa famille, John, Monica, Michelle et David. Nous avons beaucoup apprécié les moments partagés avec elle. C'est triste, mais je suis sure qu'elle aurait préféré qu'on fasse la fête au lieu d'être triste. Elle était une personne significative pour nous et elle restera toujours dans nos coeurs pour toute ma famille parce qu'on continuera de parler d'elle... et de sourire avec tous ces bons souvenirs...

So many memories come to my mind in this minute. So sorry to hear about this but also so glad i had the chance to live the ITC experience and meet you. Thank you for all the incredible moments i had the chance to live there and for all the amazing friends i made. These will always be in my heart and in my mind. Thank you Mme Barnett and for your family you are all in my heart and in my prayers.

I loved her so much, beautiful woman fun to be with, I will always remember you, rest in peace and thankyou always my dearest!!! See you later!!!

She was strong, she was fair and essentially a good person and excellent at her job! I jope she had a good life . . . Rest in Peace Mme Barnett and Thank you

Terrible news. It feels like someone in the family is gone. Mme Barnett, thank you for taking care of us, for being mad at us when we'd sneak out, for making us laugh, for punishing us, for being concerned and thoughtful, for all the good times in your office and later on catching up. You were important to us because of the relationship you had with each one of us, not just because of the summer paradise you managed to create. You will always be loved. All my support to her closest family.

unforgettable women since 1996 till now .... god bless her soul

Mme Barnett was an inspirational lady.. May she rest in peace.
My deepest condolences go out to her family and loved ones.

She will never be forgotten.

My deepest sympathies John and Alan. So many memories. A formidable woman with a very large heart . I will never forget her.

Thank you for everything, Madame Barnett. You were an inspiration.

Chère Madame Barnett,
merci pour tout ce que vous avez été pour nous.

Soo sorry to hear such news. Mme Barnett, you were not only an amazing woman, but it was a true honor having met you. You were summer after summer our ITC mom, and never got to know your secret of how you always ended up knowing everything! Everytime i see those haribo gummybears reminds me of you. Always in our hearts.

Madame Barnett,

Thank you for giving me some of the best Summers of my life both as a camper for four years and as a counselor for two not to mention the friends I now have all around the world. Yours was a beautiful and well spent life. Rest in peace...

Sean Sullivan
Washington DC

You will always have a special place in my heart. Thanks for the great memories. My condolances for the family

Mother of Camp, knew everything, nobody ever knew how.. long time no see, but always in our heart!
Through Camp always with us and all the campers and counselors who were and will be there!

I am sorry to hear of her passing. She was a great leader of ITC. I have many fond memories of her, John. Sorry for your loss. Amy (Freeman) Chartoff.

Helas, the end of an era......the mother of ITC is no longer. For many she was the mother of all mothers, providing us with a save and secure haven called ITC, with lots of fun, love, warmth and friends. I will never forget Madame Barnett, being such a important part of my life and of many others. All she wanted was a better and peaceful life for the children of the World.
We will never forget you,
Love,
Alain

Madame Barnett!! That's probably the worst joke you have played on me...
Losts of love to the whole family.

Dearest Mme Barnett,
I have had the pleasure of knowing you for a long time. You were the pillar of ITC together with Bernard and you have been an inspiration to lots of people. I got to know you when I became counselor at ITC in 1982. Since then I returned many times as counselor and friend. We started 'Friends of ITC-IJC' and gave some children the chance to live the ITC-IJC experience with success.
You have tried to make the world a better place and although this is a never ending goal you set your mark with 'the little United Nations' you built in Chailly and Gstaad together with Bernard and RoseMarie.
Rest in peace, you have given people all over the world a fantastic experience.
We love and cherish you.
And for me personnally, you taught me to believe in myself, it's a gift.
All my love Brigitte

No longer in our lives to share
But in our hearts you're always there