Charlotte Golden Kamin, 64, of Highland Park, an author and teacher, died Saturday in Highland Park Hospital.
Mrs. Kamin was on the faculty of the Humanities Department of Barat College in Lake Forest for 10 years. She was a specialist in comparative religion.
She was instrumental in the revision and development of Barat’s religious studies curriculum and developed courses in “Native American Religions-Moccasins to Mantras,” “Women as Spiritual Leaders,” “Death and Dying,” and others on modern spirituality and contemporary Jewish thought.
She participated in religious symposiums nationwide, especially on Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
“She was a dedicated educator and author, an extremely valuable department member,” said Dr. Susan Solway, chair of the Humanities Department and professor of the history of art at Barat.
“She created and taught many disciplinary and cultural courses and was a superb teacher and a brilliant, provocative lecturer,” Solway said. “As a student adviser, she made many, many extracurricular contributions to the cultural and academic life of the college.
“She was extremely enriching to student life as a whole, without holding back on her own time. She will be very deeply missed by the staff and students.”
Mrs. Kamin was the author of “Jesus as Zaddik” which was part of the book “Fireball and the Lotus: Emerging Spirituality from Ancient Roots,” published in 1987.
She was a frequent lecturer and participant in Common Ground, a Chicago-area interfaith group for 15 years before joining Barat College. In the early 1960s she helped launch the Urban Gateways co-educational program for inner city and North Shore children.
A native of Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, she graduated from Northwestern University where she received a master’s degree in comparative religion.
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Mrs. Kamin is survived by her husband, Dr. Sheldon Kamin; three sons, Jonathan, Daniel and Micah; two daughters, Paula Jacobi and Valerie Keartes; her mother, Ella Golden; a brother; a sister; and six grandchildren.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. Monday in North Suburban Synagogue Beth-El, 1175 Sheridan Rd., Highland Park.