Bloomington icon Charlotte Zietlow dies at 91 after lifetime of community service

Charlotte Zietlow, a fixture in Bloomington’s civic life for more than half a century, has died. She was 91.

Zietlow was in the thick of Bloomington area civic matters until the end. Three weeks ago, she joined with former mayor John Hamilton to write a letter opposing the construction of a bigger jail, which Hamilton read aloud at the most recent Monroe County council meeting.

The joint letter, no matter the topic, would have itself been newsworthy, because Zietlow and Hamilton were on different sides of many issues, even though they were both Democrats. 

Three years ago, when a three-way primary race for mayor appeared to be shaping up between Hamilton, Kerry Thomson and Susan Sandberg, there was speculation about which of the two women Zietlow would support against Hamilton. The question was answered when Zietlow was the one who introduced Thomson at her launch party.

In 2019, when the county election board decided that no citywide elections would be held in November, because there were no contested citywide races, Zietlow appeared in front of the board to object, saying, “Voting is the primary duty of citizens in a democracy.”

Zietlow served on Bloomington’s board of public works through the end of 2015.  

Zietlow’s career ran the gamut of government, business, and community service. She was the first woman to serve as president of the Bloomington city council and the first woman elected to Monroe County’s board of commissioners, where she also became the board’s first woman president.

During her time in county government, she helped lead the effort to restore the historic courthouse on the downtown square. In 2012, the county’s jail and court building at 7th and College was renamed the Charlotte Zietlow Justice Center, a tribute to her longtime public service.

Outside of government, Zietlow was also active. She served as executive director of United Way of Monroe County from 1988 to 1990 and later chaired the Sanger endowment fund at Planned Parenthood of Southern Indiana. She also worked with SEED Corp. and Middle Way House, a Bloomington domestic-violence shelter.

In the private sector, she co-founded Goods Inc.—now known as Goods for Cooks—in 1973 with Marilyn Schultz and Ann Bron. The gourmet kitchen shop became a downtown institution. Zietlow sold her share of the business in 1988.

She was known among friends and colleagues for her extensive cookbook collection and for the many figurative and literal hats she wore. Zietlow’s literal hats were memorialized in a song by local musician, Kid Kazooey—“Fish on the Roof of the Courthouse.” 

Zietlow wrote two books: “Minister’s Daughter: One Life, Many Lives” (2020), an autobiography, and “1971: How We Won” (2022), chronicling the campaign that shifted Bloomington city government from Republican to Democrat control.

Her long résumé includes runs for higher office—a congressional bid in 1978 and a mayoral campaign in 1996 —along with more than five decades of civic involvement. 

She was married to Paul Zietlow, a professor of English at Indiana University, who died in 2015. They had two children, Rebecca and Nathan.

Several sources have indicated that funeral arrangements for Zietlow are pending.