Name: Alexander Funeral Home-East Chapel
Address: Evansville, IN

From David Bennett
My mother, Carolyn, was dedicated to helping others, and she always tried to do the right thing. My father, Paul, was 10 years older than her, so she always knew that she’d probably have to take care of him near the end of his life. My father developed Alzheimer’s disease, so this became very challenging. Nevertheless, she persisted in caring for him at home until it became absolutely impossible. In April, 2011, she had become overwhelmed with the effort and was hospitalized with pneumonia. But, still she required convincing from her children to move Paul to a nursing home. Fortunately, there was great place a mile from her home, so she could visit him every day. 
 
My mom’s relationship with my late wife, Sun Hong Rhie, was difficult at times, due to Sun’s schizophrenia, which was not diagnosed until 23 years after we married. Sun could be extremely critical of my mother before she was diagnosed and when she was off her medication. But, my mom never responded with bitterness. In fact, she was responsible for one of Sun’s happiest moments near the end of her life. Sun was an avid fan of classical pianists, and she had watched almost all of the 2013 van Cliburn competition online. When my mom found out about this, she discovered that the 3rd place winner, Sean Chen, would be playing with the Evansville symphony a few months later, so she invited us down for the concert. Sun had a great time at the concert, and afterwards got to meet with Sean Chen for about 30 minutes afterwards (as all the VIPs wanted to meet with the Conductor). This was not an event that my Mom would have attended herself, but she found out about it because she was exploring Sun’s interests. 
 
My siblings and I had a somewhat unusual upbringing, I think. We never heard our parents argue about anything, and when we were young, it seemed like they never had any disagreements (except with us kids). In 1965, it was becoming very clear that cigarette smoking was very bad for one’s h

My mother was always a special person from the day that she was born.  She excelled at school, and did 4th and 5th Grade on one year.  Her teacher considered giving her a double promotion, but decided that while this would be appropriate academically, it would not have been good socially.
In high school Mom was a goalie on the field hockey team.  She was not part of the “in crowd”, and wanted to be, but was not willing to do the stupid things required to qualify.  She graduated as the class valedictorian.  She was asked to relinquish the right to give the farewell address at graduation so the 2nd best student, a popular boy, could give it.  Anyone who knows my Mom will know that she gave the speech, and it was an excellent speech.
Mom earned her bachelor’s degree in physics from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine.  She was the only female physics major in her class.  She worked at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute after her junior and senior years, and that’s where she met my father.
They married and moved to central Pennsylvania. After starting a family, she returned to school, entering the then new field of computer science at Penn State University. Carolyn very much enjoyed her first computing job, supporting researchers from around the world at the Agricultural Data Processing Lab at Penn State University. Later, after the family had moved to Evansville, Indiana, she applied her skills in the financial sector at the Old National Bank and American General Finance. Carolyn was a computer programmer and systems analyst – a career spanning over four decades.  Church life was important for her, both at St. John’s UCC in Boalsburg, Pa. and Bethlehem UCC in Indiana. She truly believed in helping others. At the end of the Vietnam War, she opened her home to Vietnamese refugees, giving them a sound start to their new life in the US. After hurricane Katrina, she went with a crew to Louisiana to build new houses for those that had lost everything.  Carolyn volunteered as a 

From Walter Gove (Carolyn’s brother)
We were both blessed by the parents we had. They created an environment that promoted a sense of wellbeing and provided excellent examples how one should behave. Their behavior was a manifestation of Christian values and helped shape ours. They gave both of us the freedom we needed.
When I was young, Carolyn and I spent considerable time together and on occasion she looked after me. As I grew older, I increasingly focused on exploring the outdoors; mountain climbing became important to me and our time together became less frequent.
My wife and I were both professors at Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, Tennessee, and we had 2 children. Carolyn lived in Evansville, Indiana, where she worked, was married to a professor and had 3 children. We led lives that were quite separate, didn’t see each other that often and our communication tended to be irregular. But we both knew we could rely on each other. 
When my wife was seriously ill and after she died, I relied on Carolyn’s support more and more. This can be illustrated by the fact that in writing this eulogy there were a number of times when I wanted to call Carolyn to get the feedback I needed to write it. She was not there.
When our parents became so impaired that they could not be on their own, she brought them to her community in Indiana and made sure they got the essential support they needed. By providing support for our parents, Carolyn relieved me of a tremendous burden, as I was not able to care for them. For that I will be forever thankful.   
In 2007, my wife and I went on an arctic cruise where we saw a wide array of animals living amongst icy landscape. This was important to Nina. In 2014, Carolyn and I went on a similar cruise and she had a similar reaction. Seeing her reaction was gift to me. Her appreciation of this beautiful wilderness environment provided a strong statement about who Carolyn was.

From Polly Wierzbicki (Carol’s mom and Steve’s mother-in-law):
Paul and I are sorry that we are unable to attend the service, but we want to say that we remember Carolyn with much fondness.  My son Paul and I got to know Carolyn quite well when she moved to Rochester Hills, MI from Evansville.  She looked forward to Paul taking her to important appointments and enjoyed his company. 
She also looked forward to the times we would pick her up for lunch or dinner at our favorite restaurants.  Carolyn enjoyed our movie dates.  And this sounds like a very simple thing, but she and I had so much fun working on jigsaw puzzles.  Most of all, with her inquisitive mind, her favorite thing was our visit to our great Cranbrook Institute of Science.
Carolyn was determined to stay active and became a member of our Senior Center.  She went swimming in their Olympic size swimming pool and took advantage of the walking track.  Carolyn also signed up as a volunteer at one of the Rochester Public Library's mini-branches. We kept telling her how very proud we were of all she was doing. I can't say it enough -- Carolyn was a very special, lovely lady and we feel blessed to have known her.

I was privileged to know Carolyn for nearly 20 years. The fact that as her daughter-in-law I alternately called her “Mom” and “Carolyn” meant that I regarded this extraordinary woman as both surrogate mother and friend.
How can I capture in words her intellect, sharp wit, and utter grace with which she met life’s challenges, which included caring for her husband Paul as he battled Alzheimer’s? To the end, she was a positive and gracious human being whose gentle humor could bring light to the heaviest moments. 
Looking through her memorabilia—her old high school yearbook, her education certificates and recognition—I get a portrait of a young woman possessed of wisdom far beyond her years, not just self-knowledge but knowledge of and curiosity about the world around her.
Up until the last stages of her life, Carolyn—quietly and without fanfare—gave to that world. Out of her many gifts and talents, she volunteered in various capacities: serving as president of her local Audubon Society chapter, establishing a wildlife preserve in her community, visiting homebound seniors, going on mission trips with her church and much more.
I haven’t covered all of Carolyn’s accomplishments and contributions, but I must add the one most important to me: her son Steve and the wonderful galaxy of relatives and friends he brought to our marriage.
Thanks, Mom.

OBITUARY

Carolyn Bennett

February 16, 1934 – January 24, 2020

Alexander Funeral Home-East Chapel

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