Carolyn Lee Wile Williams' Obituary
Carolyn Lee Wile Williams
Born in Boston, Carolyn grew up in the small town of Stoneham, outside the city. She earned a degree in English at the University of Maine in Orono; and, while teaching in public secondary schools, spent five summers earning a Master’s degree from the Bread Loaf School of English in Middlebury, Vermont.
Carolyn married Richard Lee Williams in 1968, moving to Pennsylvania to raise their family. After 41 years there, they followed their children to the Bay area. Her much-loved children and grandchildren include: Matthew Williams, Peter Williams and wife, Monica Castillejos Aragon, and Annie Lee Williams Roque and husband Ernesto Roque and their children, Charley Mae Roque and Maxwell Cole Roque.
Born to Edith Hemmenway Haines Clarke Wile & William Palmer Wile on March 12, 1941, her family also included her brother Richard Wile, deceased, and his wife Marilyn, and their sister, Edith Ann (Wile) Graham and brother in law, Robert Graham. Others who were close to Carolyn throughout her life were Jim and Tina Wallish, and Richard’s niece, Jeanne Bittman.
Carolyn loved to teach. For more than 30 years, she taught at Harrisburg Community College, including children’s literature, world literature, and English composition classes. Beyond her role as a part-time instructor, she participated in HACC’s Wildwood Poetry Reading Series, Writers’ Conference and Journal. Carolyn was a member of the Pennsylvania Poetry Society.
In addition to writing poetry, her hobbies included reading, gardening, and taking long, fast walks around Memorial Lake near her home in Pennsylvania. She maintained several beautiful flower and vegetable gardens on the five-acre Christmas tree farm where she lived. Gardening gave Carolyn a sense of peace as it helped her maintain her strength and creativity.
In Pennsylvania, she belonged to Faith United Church of Christ for many years, and taught at the nursery school there. She later attended Derry Presbyterian Church. Carolyn volunteered at the Grantville Area Food Pantry; she presided over a program collecting and distributing free children’s books, and also helped start a meal service for underpaid workers at the local horse racetrack. She also volunteered in the nearby town of Hershey at the Public Library and the Hershey Rose Garden.
Carolyn traveled widely throughout the United States over the years. In early retirement, she enjoyed many cruises a bit farther afield; her favorite cruise was to the Mediterranean with her three adult children. While living here at Lake Park, Richard and Carolyn celebrated their 50th Anniversary with one last trip, to Hawaii, one of only a couple of states they missed on a month-long drive around the US with the children. This was their 55th year of marriage.
Carolyn participated in many activities at Lake Park, in the early years taking full advantage of the Activities Program to visit gardens, museums and hiking trails. She enjoyed walking around Lake Merritt and the gardens nearby. She was a long-time member of the Garden Club, caring for the roses on the walking roof, including their move into the specially designed planters bought by the Club. She served a term as Vice-President of the Residents’ Council and on other committees during her ten-year stay at Lake Park. Carolyn had great affection for the many people of Lake Park who showed kindness, and was encyclopedic in her knowledge about the smallest detail of someone’s personal story.
The shock and grief of Carolyn’s passing will take time to heal, though the daily memory of her presence in our lives will come to remind us of her love for her family, her endless curiosity, and the way she made others feel seen and appreciated.
What’s your fondest memory of Carolyn?
What’s a lesson you learned from Carolyn?
Share a story where Carolyn's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Carolyn you’ll never forget.
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