b. 1937

by Mary Louise Burress, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Winston-Salem, NC, 2016

Carolyn Garrison Duckett, born in Hamlet, North Carolina, to Ralph and Evelyn Blackley Garrison, was confirmed on Easter Eve 1957 by the beloved Bishop Matthew George Henry at St. Andrew’s, Canton, in the Diocese of Western North Carolina. Bishop Henry was a 1931 graduate of the University of North Carolina, along with Carolyn’s father, and confirmed three generations of Ducketts in St. Andrew’s parish in the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s. Carolyn, her husband Charles, and their four children were active members of the parish until their move to Winston-Salem in 1975.

Carolyn had attended St. Paul’s while a student at both Salem Academy and Salem College, and sandwiched volunteer work at the church, primarily on bazaars and conventions, in between the demands of an active family. She also served as treasurer of the ECW Council.

In 1983 the family moved east, and St. Thomas’s Parish in Bath presented new opportunities for service. Carolyn and Charles worked tirelessly for both St. Thomas’s and Historic Bath. By 2003 the parish had become self-supporting, with a full-time priest in 1989 for the first time in its long history. Sunday attendance averaged more than 100 at two services. The Historic Bath Foundation had been established and was planning for the 2005 celebration of the 300th anniversary of Bath’s having been the first town chartered in North Carolina. The former archbishop of Canterbury, Lord George Carey, and Lady Carey were honored guests at St. Thomas’s for a full week-end of services during the celebration.

In 2003, returning once again to Winston-Salem and St. Paul’s, Carolyn became an active member of several committees. She was a founding member of a group (along with members of St. Stephen’s) that sought to understand and undo racism, she was a co-leader of St. Mary’s Circle, and she served as president of the ECW Council. Carolyn was honored to plan the visits for, and to host her close friends, Lord and Lady Carey and Dr. and Mrs. Daniel P. Matthews, in 2007 and 2011.

Carolyn continues to volunteer for the bazaar and the white elephant sale, and is a member of the Agape Host Group. She has a long and close relationship with the three parishes she has served in the three dioceses across North Carolina. She considers these opportunities to be gifts and blessings.