Mary Carroll Obituary

March 13, 1918 - November 16, 2008
Mary Helen (Poirier) Carroll died at home on November 16 at the age of 90 after a long, gentle decline. She is survived by her daughter, Lani Carroll; her son, Wayne Carroll (of Eau Claire, WI); and her four grandchildren: Jake Gillis (of Philadelphia, PA), Sarah Carroll (of Philadelphia, PA), and Kate and John Carroll (of Eau Claire, WI). She was preceded in death by her father and mother, three siblings, and her husband, John Cary Carroll, who died four years ago. Mary was born on March 13, 1918 in Trinidad, the daughter of Jean Theodule Poirier and Mary Elizabeth (Walters) Poirier. In her earliest years in Trinidad she discovered a lifelong passion for words. She pretended to be of school age in order to obtain her first library card, and soon she had read almost every book in the children's section of the library. Her upbringing was filled with lively conversation, reading, and travels to Quebec to visit her father's extended family. Mary attended Trinidad Junior College and worked as a social worker for a few years before obtaining her college degree at the University of Colorado in Boulder. In 1943 she married John, a longtime friend from Trinidad, who was serving in the U.S. Army. Before John retired from the Air Force in 1961, his military postings took them far from their roots in Trinidad. They were stationed for three years in the mid-1950s in Germany and France, which gave them an opportunity to travel extensively throughout Europe. After John's retirement they settled in Colorado Springs. Mary began a long teaching career while John was in the Air Force, and she taught for more than twenty years at Pine Valley Elementary School and Mountain View Elementary School in District 20 after they moved to Colorado Springs. She believed that education was the key that could open life's most important opportunities, so she taught with a passionate intensity. When she got home after each day of teaching she continued to think about her students, and she spent each summer seeking new ways to engage the next year's class in the adventure of learning. She shared her deep love of language as she taught her students to read, write, and think well. Under her direction one cohort of her elementary school students performed an original musical production (designed to teach grammar, of course) that she wrote, scored, and choreographed. Mary's and John's long marriage came as close to storybook bliss as any ever could. They were deeply devoted to each other, and except for their work they were almost inseparable. They shared a wide circle of wonderful friends, and when they were at home they loved to read and talk, with a crossword puzzle always within reach. They enjoyed each day's views of the Front Range – every day a little different from the day before. It was a sad irony that in her last five years Mary suffered from Alzheimer's disease, so the language that she loved so much and wielded so well slowly became perplexing to her. Her love of words lives on in her children, her grandchildren, and the many students she taught.