Carolyn Jean Stickle, of Maplewood, passed away on March 4, 2022, at 90+ years young. She is survived by her two children, Dave and Susan, their spouses, Lisa Stickle and Jonna Koellhoffer, and her three grandchildren, David, Mike, and Kevin.
Born in Irvington, her family moved to Maplewood when she was young, and she remained there throughout her life. She grew up on Brookside Road with her parents and sister, Barbara Peters. She graduated Columbia High School in 1949 and attended Douglas College for a few years. She left college, and went to work at Hayden Stone Brokerage in Maplewood. She stopped working to raise her children. She returned to the workforce at Columbia High School in the early 1970s, working in the music department and the adult school before becoming a 12-month employee in the guidance department. She retired in 2011 at the age of 78.
She faithfully attended Morrow Memorial United Methodist Church. She volunteered at many of the events at the church including the book sale, and she played a large part in the huge annual rummage sale, one of her favorite events. She enjoyed sorting clothes and setting up for days before the event. She also took great pride in setting up the flowers on the church’s altar. Her ashes will be interred in the Memory Garden at Morrow, next to her husband, F. David Stickle.
She loved to garden and passed that love of gardening to her children. She had a small but mighty vegetable garden, and her rock garden on the side of the house was her pride and joy. She spent hours there weeding, pruning and pampering. The deer and neighborhood cats were always undermining her efforts, but she was determined and would start again.
Growing up, she would visit her Aunt Florence and Uncle Mickey in Sea Girt, which sparked her love for the Jersey Shore. As a young family, Carolyn, and Dave, with their two kids in tow, would venture down to Lavalette and stay with Dave’s sister, Ruth and her husband, Arthur (Dombey). They would swim, body surf, fish and barbeque from the spring long into the fall. After the house was sold, they continued to vacation in Lavalette each summer. To her enjoyment, her son David and his wife Lisa ended up living at “the shore” so she could get her fix of the water, air and sun as often as she liked.
Carolyn had a long and fulfilling life. She touched many hearts and will be missed by all. There will be a Memorial Service at Morrow Memorial United Methodist Church on July 15 at 1:00 p.m. Please join us in remembering a great woman.