Cecilia Ann Washington Carr

Cecilia Ann Washington-Carr, born January 23, 1946, was the beloved and cherished daughter of Dr. Emmett Hartford and Inez Elizabeth Washington. Cecilia matriculated at St. Pius the V Catholic School, John E. Ford Elementary, Susie Tolbert Elementary, James Weldon Johnson Junior High, and Stanton Preparatory Senior High School - receiving high honors from each as a consecutive honor roll student. She graduated from Howard University in Washington D. C. in 1968 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. She did advanced studies in advertising design, illustration, and the art of the Italian Renaissance. She won the Graphic Arts Award for Excellence three years in a row at Howard University. In 1967, she received the Fine Arts Student Council Award in Design Illustration. At graduation in 1968, she received an outstanding award for mastery of the Italian Renaissance.

Cecilia was recruited by Hallmark Cards in 1968 in Kansas City Missouri. In addition to designing and illustrating greeting cards, and developing promotional ideas, Cecilia worked as a freelance textile designer and book illustrator. For three years, she taught school for the Ministry of Education and Culture in Nassau, Bahamas before being hired in 1978 by Walt Disney World, her dream job. A Disney Character Illustrator for the Merchandise and Marketing Division, Cecilia later worked in the Animation Department. Cecilia was on the team that developed Epcot and MGM Studios. For five years, she designed and hand-painted the logo on the clothing worn by the Mouseketeers for the long-running television show The Mickey Mouse Club. Cecilia is one of two people in the world certified to draw Mickey Mouse. Cecilia also did scenic projects at Universal Studios and Sea World. She was selected regularly to take maintenance cruises onboard the Disney Cruise Lines, touching up the scenic art in the children’s area and all other areas while sailing on the high seas. In her home studio, she was surrounded by plaques, paintings, and mementos from a lifetime of artistic achievement.

It was in 1990 that Cecilia met Henri Landwirth and discovered Give Kids The World, his whimsical village in Kissimmee, Florida that helped make wishes come true for terminally ill children and their families. Cecilia’s work can be seen in the mosaic tables, fairy tale fire hydrants on every street corner, the Neapolitan sundaes on the walls of the ice cream parlor, and the characters drawn perfectly on the horses displayed in the Castle of Dreams Carousel. Cecilia was hired as a muralist with The Heart of America, a foundation that provides books and library makeovers for schools in economically depressed neighborhoods throughout the country. She traveled in this capacity for 10 years. She was commissioned by Misty Copeland, the first Black principal ballerina with The American Ballet Theatre, to do her portrait in Long Beach, California. It is on display at her original dance studio. Cecilia was commissioned during Barack Obama’s inauguration to paint a mural at a local Washington D.C. elementary school and featured live on a telecast. Through Heart of America, Cecilia was commissioned by Oprah Winfrey to paint a mural at a local elementary school in Winter Park, Florida.

Cecilia founded her own company, Angel on My Shoulder by Cecilia and created 25 uniquely beautiful angels of all ethnicities. Her angels were featured on pins, mugs, t-shirts, tote bags, pencils, greeting cards, and bookmarks. Her pins were sold in 250 Publix supermarkets in Georgia and Florida and in the Jacksonville Internation Airport. In 1998, Cecilia received the distinct Catholic Press Association Book Award First Place from Pauline Books and Media Children’s Books for her illustrations in My Bible Friends Read and Do Book.

Henri Landwirth, Ponte Vedra philanthropist, commissioned Cecilia to transform the bare walls of a new medical clinic at the I. M. Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless into a mini-Magic Kingdom. Cecilia used the healing power of art to brighten the days of staff and patients. Cecilia’s art was greatly appreciated, and she once said, “When people watch me work, they become a part of it, and I become a part of them.”

Cecilia is survived by her loving and devoted sister Mary Elizabeth Washington, brother Emmett Hartford Washington, Jr. (Brenda), niece Sheila Washington Jackson (Victor), grandniece Sydnie Marie Brennen, and a host of dear cousins and friends.

Cecilia was preceded in death by her parents, Dr. Emmett Hartford and Inez Elizabeth Washington, and nephew Emmett Hartford Washington, III.

Heartfelt thank you to: cousins Msgr. James R. Boddie, Jr. and Family, Betty Theresa Kage and Family, and exceptional friends: Dr. Kathleen Rowlett, Michelle Fusillo and Family, and Brenda and Roy Harris and Family.

A special thank you for the family to Mrs. Karen Waters, and all of the amazing nurses, doctors and support staff of Mayo Clinic for their amazing care.

A visitation / rosary service for Cecilia will be held Friday, June 14, 2024 at 6:00 PM at Christ The King Church, 742 Arlington Road North, Jacksonville, Florida 32211. A funeral service will occur Saturday, June 15, 2024 at 2:00 PM at Christ The King Catholic Church, 742 Arlington Road North, Jacksonville, Florida 32211. A committal service will occur Saturday, June 15, 2024 at Evergreen Cemetery, 4535 North Main Street, Jacksonville, Florida 32206.