Caroline Wright Putnam's Obituary

Over the past week, I have been posting pages out of my Dad's Coppermine trip.  I had entered them all before last weekend and have them scheduled to post daily.  Last Saturday, my Mother pasted away and I have been having a hard time coming back to this project.  She is really the one who got me into genealogy and how it ties to history and has been a driving force for me to work on this blog. I'll get back to Dad's trip in the next few weeks or so, but will divert a bit and do something on Mom's ties back to the pilgrims.  Look for it soon.

Caroline Wright Putnam

Caroline Wright Putnam, age 86, of Marietta, OH died at her home on November 12th, 2016.  She was born on May 12th, 1930 named Florence Caroline, to David Sanders Wright and Florence Edna Wright in Northampton, MA. She was the youngest of five siblings (Catherine Sanders Wright Grandia, David Joy Wright, Charles Merrick Wright, and George Edward Wright).  Her mother died when she was seven, and she was raised by her father and her older sister, Kate, in a rambling house full of brothers, uncles, and adopted stray cats.  The house was built in the latter 1600s with pine floorboards hand sawn from a single tree, wooden pegs in the rafters, and had survived several French and Indian raids.

Caroline attended Smith College and received a Master’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Amherst (now the University of Massachusetts).  She married Robert Ervin Putnam, PhD (Died March 27, 2011) of Leeds, Mass on August 23rd, 1952.  She is survived by her sister, Kate, brother, George, and children: David Putnam (JoAnne) of Chapman, Maine and grandsons Aaron (Katherine) and Ian; Robert Putnam (Lee) of Chicago, Illinois and grandsons Benjamin (Angela) and Christopher Putnam, and grandchildren Emily Towlerton (Drew), Richard, Douglas (Alyssa), and Michael Jones; Mary Bennett (Jim) of Newport, Ohio and granddaughters Elizabeth and Catherine; and Andrew Putnam (Kimberly) of Denver Colorado and granddaughters Tessa and Isabella.

Caroline was a woman of immense compassion, piercing intellect, and wry wit.  She never complained about the barriers society placed before women, she simply dismantled them with unrelenting energy and a smile.  Like her father and siblings, every stray cat found warmth, food, and love at Caroline’s home.  Her compassion for all living things extended to dogs, turtles, spiders, errant children, and gardens.

Caroline was a generous spirit and very active in the Marietta community.  She was a long-standing member of the League of Women Voters, and a stalwart member of the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Marietta.  She helped to found the Outdoor Education Center, the recycling center, and the Empty Bowls Project, and spent a number of years at the Washington State Community College.

Caroline was always excelling at new things.  She learned to play multiple instruments and was a longtime member of the Valley Renaissance Consort.  She learned to fly and spent many years as a private pilot.  She was a passionate student of marine microfossils. She would eagerly receive packages of foul-smelling mud from various locations around the world and pore tirelessly over her microscope, identifying and photographing glorious shells foraminifera, coccolithophores, and radiolaria species.

Caroline thrived on chaos. She maintained a house full of grandchildren, cats, dogs, injured birds, turtles, gardens, and spiders.  All nature grieves at her passing.  She was selfless, uncomplaining, and unbelievably stubborn.  Her spirit and the goodness she brought to the world will live forever through her friends, family, acquaintances, and strangers who passed her on the street.

See the obituary posted in the Marietta Times