Charlotte Field, 82, Known For Elegant Sense Of Style, Dies

Friends referred to Charlotte Field as "The Duchess," or "The Princess."

That certainly was the striking brunette's style as a film-actress-turned-publicity-director for the Washington State Apple Commission.

And that was her heritage as a daughter of Charles Field, a leading West Coast interior designer, and Evelyn Westcott, whose family founded Railway Express.

Miss Field died of cancer Tuesday at her Bellevue home. She was 82.

"Charlotte was like a person from another era," said retired King County Superior Court Judge Carmen Otero, a friend. "She seemed to take from the old-fashioned world, like putting out an entire tea service to have a cup of tea. Yet she believed in metaphysics, went to Unity Church, believed in spontaneous healing and had friends of every age around the world."

She kept those friends for life because she remembered personal details, sent many cards and in conversation "made you feel like the most important person," Otero said.

Born in Seattle, Miss Field attended the all-girls St. Nicholas School. She earned a bachelor's degree in drama at the University of Washington, acted in UW productions and taught charm and modeling classes before heading to Hollywood for a fling with films.

Her love of people and fashion in 1940 drew her to New York. She became a market representative for Allied Stores, then worked for other stores before becoming director of national publicity for Washington's apple commission in the late 1950s, a post she held for 20 years.

"(It) became the prototype for other agricultural-commodity commissions, such as the Florida Citrus Commission," Otero said.

A renowned hostess and arts patron, Miss Field prepared meals that resembled paintings. She supported the Bellevue Philharmonic. She also wrote poetry, crafted sculptures in bronze and decorated her Meydenbauer Bay view penthouse to resemble an Italian villa.

"She was a very unusual woman in that she never married and never had children, when it was almost imperative to do those things," said attorney Diana Jimenez. "But she had her career and many close friends who meant a great deal."

Miss Field had many suitors, but she remained true to the memory of "her one great love," a wealthy Swiss gentleman she had known in New York, Otero said. Miss Field rarely mentioned him, but a portrait of the mysterious "Ernest" always graced her bedroom.

No immediate family survives her. Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Unity Church, 16330 N.E. Fourth St., Bellevue. Memorials may go to any arts organization.