Carolyn Hershey

Carolyn Sullivan Hershey passed away at Mill Vista Lodge in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, on November 7, 2021, following a long illness.  She was the devoted wife to David Hershey for more than 55 years. She met her husband while attending the University of Cincinnati in 1959.  They married in 1966 and moved to DeBary, Florida, the first of many homes. For nearly 40 years home was in Fairfax County, Virginia.  In 2017 Colorado became her home.

Carolyn was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on December 25, 1941, to Sarah Vivian (Jones) Sullivan and Dale Franklin Sullivan and became part of a very large extended family.  She remained in contact with all throughout the years.  She graduated from Woodward High School in Cincinnati and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Cincinnati where she served as president of Alpha Gama Delta sorority chapter and was honored at the outstanding senior woman in the University of Cincinnati Class of 1963.  She earned a Master of Science degree from the University of Illinois in 1971 and was a graduate of the School of Medical Technology at Orange Memorial Hospital in Orlando, Florida.  She taught science in Cincinnati, Key West, FL, and Fairfax County, VA and worked in pathology laboratories Orlando and Key West.

Beginning in high school she was a passionate volunteer with her church, boy scouts, the public library, the Navy Relief Society, numerous environmental causes including cleaning up streams and planting sedge planting native species in the tidal Potomac wetlands, and in assisting elderly shut-ins with transportation, shopping and visits.  She loved the natural beauty of the United States and enjoyed travelling from corner to corner.  She was so excited to have grandchildren and loved working and learning with them.  Unfortunately, because of her health, she all too early became unable to really know and interact with them as they grew older.  She loved writing, not poetry or novels, but the lost art of handwritten letters.  And, she created greeting cards, cartoons and posters.  A swimmer from her earliest years she later fell in love with the ocean and became an avid snorkeler and scuba diver.

Carolyn was a loving, gentle and supportive person.  She raised two wonderful sons, who, thanks to her steady guidance, calm demeanor, and patient nurturing, are continuing her tradition of being wonderful adult custodians of their parts of society.

Carolyn will be missed by her husband, David, sons Evan (Jennifer) and Daniel (Alison), grandchildren Benjamin, Ava and Nathaniel, sister Jean Neuhardt (Lawrence) and cousins, nieces, nephews and many friends.

A memorial service in memory of Carolyn will be held at 11 am, Tuesday, November 16, 2021 at Horan & McConaty, 5303 E. County Line Road, Centennial, CO, 80122.  You may remotely join Carolyn’s memorial service with this livestream link: https://bxcited.com/carolyn-hershey/

In lieu of flowers donations may be made in Carolyn’s memory to The Nature Conservancy, 4245 N. Fairfax Dr., Arlington, VA 22203, or the Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave. Floor 17, Chicago, IL 60611