Carolyn Jane Yarger, of Boulder, Colo., passed away on Sept. 10, 2023, in Boulder.
Born in Fort Wayne, on Jan. 4, 1936, to Harry and Ester Gawthrop. Carolyn grew up on Main Street in Warsaw. She was a talented teacher with a master’s degree. Between 1972 and 1998, She taught first grade at Madison Elementary School in Warsaw. When she retired she did a grand tour of Alaska driving herself from Indiana, up the Alaska-Canadian highway, throughout Alaska, and back. Then she packed up her belongings and moved first to Longmont, Colo. Shortly after she bought a beautiful sunny place in Estes Park Colorado with views of Longs Peak and visiting elk. She continued to volunteer, first as a teacher of English as a second language (ESL) at the Boulder County Jail, as a private ESL teacher and volunteered as a mentor to brand new elementary school teachers. She loved reading and volunteered sorting donated books at the Estes Valley Library. She also joined various hiking groups and led various hiking and snowshoeing trips in the Front Range foothills and Rocky Mountain National Park.
In recent years, a hip fracture and disease left her restricted in her mobility but she still enjoyed going on drives in the mountains and going for strolls in the sunshine as much as possible. Her most recent address was Morningstar Assisted Living.
Carolyn is survived by her brother, John Gawthrop, in Colorado; her daughter, Jill Yarger, in Colorado; and two sons, Scott Yarger and Brad Yarger, in Indiana.
There will be a celebration of life at Greenwood and Myers Mortuary on Oct. 7 at 12:30 p.m.
Donations in honor of Carolyn may be sent to Doctors without Borders USA (https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/secure/donate?type=tribute).