Carol Diane Chaney

Dr. Carol Chaney, a chemist and longtime Falls Church resident, died of natural causes at her home on Aug. 4. She was 60. Carol and her husband, Keith Christianson, were both retired patent examiners at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, where she specialized in batteries and fuel cells. Carol was born Carol Diane Chaney on Jan. 19, 1955, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Her father, Lucian, was a physicist on the research faculty of the University of Michigan and her mother, Mary, a former math teacher, stayed home with her and her two older brothers, Lindsay and Martin. Carol developed juvenile diabetes at age 5, a condition that led to a variety of health challenges for the rest of her life. She dealt with its various consequences with stoic acceptance, grace, and even humor. After graduating from the University of Michigan in 1976, Carol entered a doctoral program in materials science at Northwestern University, where she met Keith. They were married in 1982 and their daughter, Christina, was born the next year. Carol and Keith received their Ph.D. degrees at the same time in 1985. After working in corporate and academic positions in the Chicago area and Maine, the family moved to Falls Church in the early 1990s. Carol began working at the patent office in 1994 and continued until she suffered a stroke in 2009, from which she was still recovering at the time of her death. Years later, Carol recalled that one of her favorite activities as a child was writing and drawing on the abundant pieces of paper that her father brought home from work. She could only use one side of the paper because the back was always light blue with strange lines. She eventually learned that the blue designs were actually the front side of old blueprints. Throughout her life, Carol enjoyed photography as a hobby and learned to use several digital photo programs, which she continued to use for making photo art and crafts as she was recovering from her stroke. A visitation and memorial service will be held at Murphy Funeral Home, 1102 West Broad St., Falls Church, VA on Oct. 3 beginning at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, jdrf.org.