Carolyn Sackett Coleburn

Carolyn Sackett Coleburn died on May 19, 2018, at her home in Redding, Connecticut. She was born in New Rochelle, New York, on January 7, 1930, the youngest of three children  of Charlie and Clara Sackett.

Carolyn grew up in Larchmont, New York, and Thompson’s Point, Charlotte, Vermont. She attended Abbot Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, making great friendships there that lasted a lifetime.  She graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont.  At a young age she developed a passion for words and language – she loved reading and discussing literature, studied Latin and French, worked for Literacy Volunteers of America, and was vice president of The Friends of the Ridgefield Library. She loved playing Scrabble, and in her fifties started creating crossword puzzles. Some of her proudest moments were when her puzzles were published in the New York Times. She got great joy commuting to New York by train on these mornings, watching her fellow commuters complete her puzzles.  

At Middlebury, Carolyn met Kenneth Coleburn; they married in 1952. They raised their family in Rye, New York, where they lived for 46 years. Carolyn was a stay-at-home mother until she began to run the family’s printing business, Clark and Fritts, in 1978.  She was class parent for all four of her children at Osborn School. At the sixth-grade graduation of her youngest, she was called onto the stage and recognized for being the longest-serving class parent, for 28 years.

Carolyn and Ken moved to Ridgefield, Connecticut, in 2000 and then Redding, in 2015.

Some of her favorite days were spent at Thompson’s Point, where she spent every summer for 84 years.  Few things made her happier than sitting on her porch and enjoying the view of Lake Champlain, playing tennis with her friends, kayaking and swimming.

She loved to plan trips and travel in the United States and abroad with friends and family.  She visited France, Turkey, India, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Ireland, Scotland, Ecuador, England, Italy, the Galapagos, Egypt, Greece, Portugal, and Belgium.

Carolyn was a devoted and loving wife, mother, and grandmother. Her friendships reached across several generations.  Her enthusiasm for life, humor, and intelligence will be missed dearly. 

Carolyn is survived by her husband of 66 years, Kenneth Coleburn; their children, William, Jacqueline, Robert, and Carolyn; their spouses, Mary Lou Coleburn, Robert McDonough, Robin Coleburn, and Harry Philbrick; and her four grandchildren, Andrew, Cameron, Kara, and Charlie, and her brother Lynn Sackett. A memorial service will be held for Carolyn later this summer in Charlotte, Vermont.The family requests that in lieu of flowers contributions in Carolyn’s honor go to:The Ridgefield Library, 472 Main Street, Ridgefield, Connecticut 06877, 203-438-2282

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