Carolyn Elizabeth (Kelley) Young

SCARBOROUGH – Carolyn Elizabeth (Kelley) Young, 96, died on Jan. 1, 2023, at Gosnell Memorial Hospice House after a short illness. She was born on March 1, 1926, in Wallingford, Vt., the only child of Myron E. Kelley and Inez Raymond Kelley.

Her son, D. Kelley Young, her daughter-in-law, Sharon-Lee Brinkman-Young, of Portland, her granddaughter, Alex Brinkman-Young and Alex’s husband, James Marsden, of New York and Oxford, England, survive her.

Her parents, and her husband of 65 years, Hugh C. Young, predeceased her in 2019.

Carolyn graduated as Valedictorian from Wallingford High School in 1944 and earned her B.S. in teaching at the University of Vermont in 1948. She was the first person in her family to attend a four-year college and continued to enjoy learning throughout her life; she especially loved reading poetry and was a great giver of books to her loved ones.

As a result of her middle name, Elizabeth, Carolyn had a lifelong affinity and admiration for Queen Elizabeth II, who was born less than two months after Carolyn. She took some pleasure in outliving the Queen by almost four months and enjoyed following her reign, especially recently when her granddaughter, Alex, studied and lived in England.

In April 2020, Carolyn survived one of the earliest Maine cases of Covid-19, remarkably recovering in the hospital with just oxygen and IV fluids. In a negative-pressure room, attended by a nurse in full protective gear, she showed an understanding and admirable acceptance of her condition and surroundings telling her family on a zoom call: “I guess I got that virus!” This experience with Covid epitomized the indomitable spirit, will to live, and humor she showed throughout her life.

From the 1950s onwards, Carolyn taught French, Spanish and English at Brandon High School, Otter Valley Union High School, Wallingford High School, and Mill River Union High School – often she was the only foreign language teacher in these schools and even taught Kelley (out of necessity – not choice!) before retiring in the early 1980s.

Carolyn participated in many activities: swimming, attending congregational churches, and being a member of many book discussion groups. She was also a proud and active member of the Vermont Retired Teachers Association and expressed both pleasure and compassion as her daughter-in-law and granddaughter became English teachers in her footsteps.

Retirement first brought Hugh and Carolyn to Palm Harbor, Fla., then, beginning in 2007, Hugh and Carolyn lived in retirement communities in Maine to be close to their immediate family, residing most recently at the Osher Inn at Cedars. Carolyn’s family members very much appreciate the care and patience the wonderful Osher Inn staff gave her.

Interment will be at Green Hill Cemetery, 322 South Main St., Wallingford, Vt., in the spring.

To share memories of Carolyn or to leave the family an online condolence, please visit http://www.athutchins.com.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in Carolyn’s memory to

The Cedars,

630 Ocean Ave.,

Portland, ME 04103 https://www.thecedarsportland.org/giving/ways-to-give/