Global Ministries is saddened to learn of the death of Carol Garn
Carol Ann Garn
December 3, 1931 – October 27, 2017
Carol Ann Garn died Friday, October 27, 2017, in Boulder, Colorado. She was born in Cleveland, Ohio December 3, 1931, to Arlington A. Garn and Helen M. Garn. Growing up in Toledo, Ohio, she graduated from DeVilbiss High School in 1949 and the University of Toledo in 1953 where she majored in mathematics, graduating summa cum laude. She then went on to earn a Master of Arts in Education degree in guidance and counseling from the University of Michigan in 1957, and took summer classes in those subjects at the University of Wisconsin.
Carol’s teaching career began at Woodworth School in Dearborn, Michigan where she taught full time while completing her Master’s degree studies. In 1958-59 she spent a year teaching math and handling many administrative responsibilities at the U.S. Air Force School for Dependents at Lakenheath, in East Anglia, England. In Boulder, Colorado, Carol taught math and science at Casey Junior High after which she was a math teacher and counselor at Centennial Junior High until 1965. During her teaching years in Boulder, she took numerous graduate courses at the University of Colorado to keep her up to date on the current wisdom and innovations in her fields.
In 1965, Carol was appointed to serve as an educational mission co-worker for the United Church Board for World Ministries (UCBWM), a predecessor body of what today is Global Ministries. She was assigned to Inanda Seminary in Durban, South Africa, a church-related boarding school for South African high school girls. In total, she served at Inanda for eleven years. In 1982, Carol began service at the Üsküdar American Academy in Istanbul, Turkey, where she stayed for a total of fifteen years. In both placements, she was a math teacher and at times served as a counselor and administrator. This entailed solving all kinds of problems (including the non-math kind), and taking on any and all tasks that occur in schools everywhere plus others unique to Inanda and Üsküdar!
After her retirement to Boulder in 1997, Carol volunteered twice a week at the food bank of the Emergency Family Assistance Association, sorting, organizing, shelving, cleaning and interacting with clients – a labor of love. She also worked at Tru Hospice Thrift Store where they still haven’t found another volunteer to do the job she used to do there.
A very active 57-year member of First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Boulder, Carol is fondly remembered for her careful, thoughtful attention to every detail in her work on church boards and in other multiple voluntary roles. For that reason, she received the reward for Church Person of the Year from the Rocky Mountain Conference of the United Church of Christ in 2006. Carol was a devoted Christian who truly lived her faith in her professional and personal life.
Letters of commendation from former colleagues and principals in schools where she worked spoke in superlatives about her highly effective math teaching and the individual support and encouragement she gave tirelessly to her students. Whether in Boulder, South Africa or Turkey, her students expressed appreciation for her humor, for her patient persistence in increasing their skills and knowledge, and for instilling in them a true love for mathematics. Phone calls and e-mails from former students upon hearing of her passing share a common theme: “She was my best and favorite teacher, ever!”
Carol is survived by her sister, Rev. Virginia Geaman of Findlay, OH; nephew, William N.G. Geaman, Jr. of Findlay, OH; niece Holly C. Koza of Lima, OH; grandnieces, Dr. Kristen Geaman, Brittany Koza, and Sarah Koza; grandnephew, William N.G. Geaman III; her best friend of 59 years, Shirley Lai Whiteley; and all of those whose lives she touched.
Condolences may be sent to Shirley Whiteley, 3220 Wright Ave, Boulder, CO 80301. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 3, 2017, at First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, at 1128 Pine Street in Boulder, Colorado, followed by a reception. The service and reception will honor Carol’s life and celebrate her birthday.
Instead of flowers, contributions in Carol’s honor may be made to the Board of Missions and Christian Social Action at First Congregational Church, UCC at firstcong.net, the food bank at the Emergency Family Assistance Association at efaa.org, or Tru Hospice Community Care at trucare.org.