SALEM, Va. — Carolyn Wight Cassell Harrison, 92, went home to be with the Lord on Wednesday, Sept. 13.

Born in Waterbury, Conn., to Elizabeth Emery Wight and Kenneth P. Wight in 1925, Carolyn was raised in Bethel along with her brother, Carlton, and her sister, Irene. She graduated high school from Gould Academy (where she later served on the Board of Trustees for many years), and went on to earn her nursing degree from Massachusetts General Hospital.

Carolyn served as a registered nurse in the Cadet Nurse Corps during WWII, studied at American University, earned her BA at Catholic University in Washington D.C. and worked in the admissions department at Washington Hospital Center School of Nursing.

In 1953, she married Stafford H. Cassell, and had three children while continuing her career. After her husband passed away in 1966, Carolyn worked while pursuing her master’s degree in counseling education at the University of Maryland. She married Thomas R. Harrison in 1973, and served as guidance counselor at Prince George Community College in Maryland, and Isothermal Community College in North Carolina. Upon retiring to Portland, Carolyn sang with the Sweet Adelines, was an active parishioner and choir member at First Congregational Church-United Church of Christ, and worked part-time at Cherished Possessions consignment store. She and Tom moved to Daleville, Va. in 2006, where they became beloved residents of The Glebe. Carolyn was a parishioner and choir member of St. Mark’s Methodist Church, and was very involved in The Glebe community, creating a newsletter for residents, serving on several committees, and founding a support group to help residents with vision issues. A devotee of all kinds of music and a dedicated advocate for education of young people, Carolyn was known for her kind heart, her joyful and positive spirit, and her commitment to helping anyone in need. She will be greatly missed by all.

Carolyn was preceded in death by her siblings and her husbands, and is survived by her three children and their spouses, Donna Cassell Ratcliffe and husband, Sam Ratcliffe of Roanoke, Va., Stafford H. Cassell Jr. and wife, Jennifer Duggan of Roanoke, Va., Jack C. Cassell and wife, Denise Delgado Cassell of Jupiter, Fla.; and grandchildren, Stafford. H. Cassell III, Bretton M. Cassell, Robert S. Cassell, Jacqueline S. Cassell, Devon S. Bradley and Dolan Z. Bradley.

On-line condolences may be made to Carolyn’s family at www.rader-funeralhome.com.

Carolyn Wight Cassell Harrison