Obituary of Carol Anne Corlett

Carol Anne Corlett, 73, made her transition from the physical world on Tuesday, 03/25/14. She was born to Carroll Samual Wright and Emily Woodword Radford Wright at Mercy Hospital in Denver, CO on May 27, 1940. While her father served in WWII, Carol Anne was raised by her mother, aunt, and grandmother in Denver. After her father returned from the war, the family welcomed a new baby boy, James Radford Wright, born on July 7, 1946. The family moved around a great deal; in fact by 9th grade Carol Anne had attended nine schools. In 1952, the family settled in Portland, OR, where Carol Anne and Jimmy attended Grant High School. It was here that high school freshman Carol Anne met high school senior Donald A. Corlett, a baritone bass player who drank coffee and drove a car. They were both in marching band, Carol Anne playing flute, Donald playing baritone, and while she was pretty good friends with Donald's younger brother Tommy, she was too shy to do anything buy gaze dreamily at her crush as he sped away in his jalopy. But as it happened, their families both attended the same church, and one day during a church taffy pulling party, their eyes met, and soon they were in love. In 1961 Carol Anne graduate from nurses' training and became a Register Nurse. Later that year she married Donald at the magical place where it all began, Rose City Park Presbyterian Church. In 1962, eleven months later, Susan Anne was born in Corvallis, OR. Donald earned a Bachelor's, then a Master's at Oregon State University in microbiology. They moved to Madison, WI, where Donald attended graduate school for a year. He later earned his PhD. in food science from Oregon State. In 1965 they had Kenneth, whom their friends called little "thuglet" when they babysat him. In 1968, they had Margie and moved to the East Bay, where Carol worked as a nurse at Mt. Diablo Hospital, then the office of Dr. Nathan Shultz, and finally Hospice of the East Bay. As a lifelong learner and leader, Carol earned a BA in Holistic Health from Chapman College in 1985 and later served as President of American Association of University Women. In retirement, Carol loved traveling far and wide with Don and close friends to spend time with her cherished family and loved ones. In 2007, Carol was chosen to teach a course on Gandhi's India through Unity Church of Walnut Creek, of which she was a member for over 30 years. Carol loved all things beautiful, like parrots, giraffes, roses, fine lace and china. And she was crafty, spearheading an "intention wand" fundraiser that brought the Unity church community together making wands to sell. Carol was a devoted lifelong nurse who took calls from all of us about strange rashes and odd bumps, always loving us up and easing our worries. And our mom was a prolific card and letter writer, always coming up with poems or sagacious profundities from Rumi, Buddha, Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, or any other hero she had been exploring at the moment. She was a prolific collector of old and new books, silhouettes, lace, and other things fancy. She loved to play the flute and listen to the classic music by Doris Day and Ella Fitzgerald. But she also loved the music if Les Miserables, Susan Boyle, and Jonny Cash. Above all Carol was a wife and mother. Her spirit, guidance, nurturing, and grace will be dearly missed. She is survived by her husband and her children Susan, Kenneth, and Margie Corlett, and grandchildren, Kyle and Gabe Corlett and Tony and Joe Eastman. The memorial service will held at 2:00, May 10, 2014, at Unity of Walnut Creek, 1871 Geary Rd, Walnut Creek.