With sadness we share the news of the death of Carlotta Miller Budd, 83, on April 24, 2024. A service honoring her life will be held at 10 AM on Saturday, May 4 at Grace, Madison, with a reception following.
Carlotta served as a diocesan Trustee from 1989-2011, and as the first female President of the Trustees from 1996-1999. She also served as the Lay Assessor for the Ecclesiastical Court from 1990-1999.
Carlotta received her BS in Accounting from the University of Maryland in 1963. She attended New York Law School and graduated with her JD in 1978 and was admitted to the New Jersey Bar Association on December 6, 1978. She broke barriers and defied societal norms for women in her time. At the University of Maryland, one of her professors encouraged her to give up her pursuit of an accounting degree since “women did not make good accountants.” When Carlotta began applying to law firms after receiving her JD, many male interviewers asked her first, “Who will be taking care of your family if you’re working?” Tired of being asked the same irrelevant and sexist questions during each interview, she opened her own law firm in Madison, NJ. She quickly became a trusted businesswoman representing many local families and male-owned businesses.
Carlotta attended Grace Church in Madison from 1973-2018, where she served on the Vestry, as a Warden, and on the Finance Committee, and pitched in for countless events. In 2018, she closed her law practice and moved to Dover, NH to be closer to her family. She joined St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Dover and was very active there.
In addition to her diocesan and parish service, she also served on the YMCA Board of Directors; as President of the Rotary Club of Madison; and in 2015 received the Caritas Award from the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth in recognition of her work and character.
Carlotta is predeceased by her parents, her sister Julie L. Miller, and her son James S. Budd. She is survived by her sister Judith R. Miller; her son Robert T. Budd, his wife Julie Humphreys and children Emily Brenna, Tallulah, and Cyrus Budd; her son Charles L. Budd and his wife Grace Lyons; and her daughter-in-law Susan Vogel and son Sammy Budd.
Carlotta’s family asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to one of the following organizations that she supported for many years:
- ACLU
- Planned Parenthood
- The National Down Syndrome Society
- Grace Church, Madison, NJ
God, our Father, we thank you that you have made each of us in your own image, and given us gifts and talents with which to serve you. We thank you for Carlotta, the time we shared with her, the good we saw in her, the love we received from her. Now give us strength and courage, to leave her in your care, confident in your promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
