Carolyn Corson

Carolyn Wright Corson, born March 9, 1943 in Philadelphia, PA, to Lemuel D. and Ernestine Q. Wright, was the oldest of five daughters.  She moved with her family to Ithaca in 1956, when her father accepted a position at Cornell University.  In Ithaca she met her future husband, David.  With exception of the 1970s, they lived in Ithaca for the remainder of her life.

Her life was devoted to her family, to her teaching and her many students, and to her love of Welsh ponies.  She was a graduate of Ithaca High School (1961), Cornell University (B.A., 1966), and the University of Arizona (M.L.S, 1977).  She was also a graduate student in History at Cornell, but before finishing her PhD she “followed her husband” to Tucson, Arizona, where he had accepted a teaching position at the University of Arizona.  However, those graduate years at Cornell provided a richness and depth to all of Carolyn’s subsequent success as a high school teacher of American history.

While in Tucson, Carolyn was an avid member of various faculty wives’ groups, including foreign foods and book clubs, as well as a devoted mother.  Juggling it all, she also went back to graduate school, enrolling in the Education and Library Science program at the University of Arizona.  She subsequently worked for two years as a school librarian in the Tucson city schools.

Although it had not been part of “the original plan”, in the summer of 1979, Carolyn and her husband returned to Ithaca, where Carolyn continued her teaching career.  For the next 25 years, she taught math, social studies, American history, and economics in the Ithaca City School District.  During those years, she taught at both Dewitt and Boynton Middle Schools and, for 18 years, at Ithaca High School, where she earned her reputation as one of the school’s outstanding teachers.

Carolyn was also an active volunteer in the Ithaca community.  She served on the Board of Trustees of the Tompkins Country Public Library at a critical point in the Library’s history.  She was also on the Board of Trustees of the History Center in Tompkins County and a long-term volunteer for the Family Reading Partnership.  But, for many, she may be best remembered as a Tompkins County Election Inspector, a volunteer position she enthusiastically embraced.

And then there were the ponies!  In addition to supporting her daughters’ love of Welsh ponies throughout their childhood, she served as President of the Northeastern Welsh Pony Association for many years.   She was for decades a much-loved presence at Welsh pony shows throughout the Northeast.

Carolyn was also an avid quilter and reader, and she kept an immaculate and beautiful home.  But, most important, she was always a supportive presence in her beloved children’s and grandchildren’s lives.

She passed away peacefully on March 25, 2022 in Ithaca, NY, surrounded by her immediate family. She is survived by her husband of almost 59 years (David), her children Catherine Corson (spouse Desmond Fitz-Gibbon) and Amy Schwartz (spouse Gary Schwartz), grandchildren Madeline Schwartz, Geoffrey Fitz-Gibbon, and Alexander Fitz-Gibbon, and three sisters, Priscilla Pazzano, Barbara Falgout, and Nancy Matyas. She was predeceased by her sister, Martha Solomon.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in support of your local public schools.  There will be no public service;  the family will be having a private celebration later in the year.