Mary Charlotte Thurtle 1961 – 2012 (from Pan Left Productions website):

Mary Charlotte Thurtle, courtesy of Pan Left Productions

It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our beautiful sister, friend, and longtime Pan Leftie, Mary Charlotte Thurtle. As many knew, she had been diagnosed with cancer and fighting a very hard battle. Mary passed away this past weekend after a bout of pneumonia. We at Pan Left are shocked and saddened by this sudden tragedy and we will greatly miss her as she has been a huge part of our lives along with many others. Mary first arrived in Tucson in the early 90‘s and it became her beloved home where she was known to many as an archeologist and artist. We knew her as MC where she became a Pan Left member in 2000 and then our Executive Director in 2007. Her documentaries include Quince Años (2005) which she directed, and was co-producer for The Heart and the Monster: A Journey to Cananea (2003) and Under Arpaio (2012)- winner of Best of Arizona, Arizona International Film Festival. There were also many Pan Left projects and productions she edited, assisted, and guided through completion.

Beyond her many accomplishments, she was a tireless advocate for women and human rights in our community. MC worked for social justice in issues such as migrant rights, LGBTQ rights, women’s rights, free speech, and advocacy for arts and education. She was committed to preserving access to community grassroots media and was a board member for Access Tucson. Her time here was cut short at age 50, but she lived in this world as person who had many lifetimes worth of experiences. A world traveler, committed friend, and true woman living without borders. We will miss her.

Memorial services are pending by Bring’s Memorial Chapel. Here’s the link (click here) to the AZ Daily Star obituary (also on page A21 of today’s print edition).

Sadly I don’t think I ever met Mary Charlotte though we attended a few Pan Left events, and I heard her once on the Steve Leal radio show. I wrote about the July 28 benefit at the Hotel Congress to aid Mary Charlotte’s battle with cancer (click here). Rest in peace Mary Charlotte, who passed away suddenly at a young age of 50 on August 25, 2012.