Carolyn Larene Parmenter

Carolyn Larene Parmenter of Towson, MD passed away peacefully at the age of 93 on November 26, 2022. Daughter of Charles L. and Hazeltene S. Parmenter, she was born and raised in the Philadelphia suburb of Chestnut Hill. She attended local secondary schools and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Zoology. Later she earned a Master of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from Boston University. Education was an important theme in Carol’s personal and professional life. She was proud of her parents’ legacy as University of Pennsylvania faculty members and took great pride in the dozens of professional papers and publications she authored in her chosen field of Occupational Therapy (OT), where she was a pioneer as the profession advanced in the post-World War 2 years.

During her career Carol worked in positions of increasing importance throughout the Mid-Atlantic region and District of Columbia in clinical, institutional, and administrator roles. Her first job was as a staff OT for the Liberty Mutual Insurance Company in Boston, MA. She later served as an OT at the Crippled Children’s Clinic in the District of Colombia, and at Eugene Dupont Memorial Hospital in Wilmington DE. She joined academia in 1963 with the Sharpe Health School in the District of Columbia, rising to become Chief of Occupational Therapy and Assistant Chief of Occupational Therapy for the D.C. government. She joined the faculty of Towson State University as an Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy in 1977, where she taught until her retirement in 1993. Thereafter she was a consultant for many years with several state of Maryland and local entities.

Independent in spirit and possessing a sharp wit, Carol loved to travel and kept detailed diaries of her adventures during trips to Europe, Asia, South America and pre-revolution Cuba. She was an active member of several ski clubs for nearly 30 years and regaled all with stories from the finest resorts in Europe and North America. Carol was keeper of the family genealogy and retained precious family records including a wonderful picture of infant Carol in the lap of her 90-year-old grandfather Oscar Stedman (b. 1839). She loved her annual summer trips to Cape Cod, which began as a young girl accompanying her parents as they worked as staff members of the Marine Biological Laboratory and continued with lengthy visits to her brother’s cottage in East Orleans. She was most fond of lazy summer days lounging with friends at Skaket beach. In later years Carol became a resident of the Edenwald retirement community in Towson, where she made many friends.

Carol is survived by her brother Charles S. Parmenter (Patricia) of Bloomington, Indiana, nephew Tighe S. Parmenter (wife Pamela, Christopher and Natalie) of St Augustine, FL and niece Kyle P. Parmenter (husband Douglas, Maty and Will) of Grand Rapids, MI. The family would like to thank Carol’s special friend Nancy Blake for her friendship and attentive care throughout.

She will be laid to rest with her parents in a private ceremony in Woods Hole, MA in the summer of 2023. Those wishing to honor her memory can donate to the Towson University TU Fund, #14499 Parmenter.