1935
Carolyn
2020
Carolyn Carroll Sparks
July 13, 1935 — August 11, 2020
Carolyn Carroll Sparks, 85, of Lynchburg, went to be with her blessed Lord, Jesus Christ on August 11, 2020. She was born July 13, 1935 in Oklahoma City, OK, to the late Orian Taft “O.T.” and Margaret Carroll (Bernardy).
She graduated from Classen High School in Oklahoma City in 1953 and attended The University of Oklahoma.
She is preceded in death by her husband of seven years, Richard “Dick” Thomas Sparks. She is survived by her children, Randall Carroll Moore (Kate) of Wayland, MA, and Stephen Price Moore (Kristy), of Woodland Hills, CA, and grandchildren Eleanor Louise Moore, Peter William Moore, and Charles Stephen Moore of Wayland MA, Ellen Price Moore of Napa, CA, and Emily Grace Moore of Costa Mesa, CA. She is also survived by her sister Dolores Carroll Dunn (James R., III) of Oklahoma City, and many cousins, nieces, a nephew, and sixteen grand- and great-nieces and nephews.
Carolyn enjoyed a very active personal and work life. In High School and College, she led and participated in many social and service-oriented organizations including her beloved Tri-Delta sorority at the University of Oklahoma. During her youth, a highlight of Carolyn’s summers was attending as a camper, and then returning as a counselor, to Camp Nagawicka in the north woods of Delafield, Wisconsin. She studied classical piano for many years, pursued interests in the arts, and was an accomplished needlepoint artisan and teacher. She was active in garden clubs in every city in which she’s lived, including the Ragged Robin Garden Club in Lynchburg.
Carolyn married Ray Beard Moore in 1956 and lived in Dallas, TX, where her two sons were born in 1960 and 1963. The family moved to Northbrook, IL in 1971. Carolyn was very active in her sons’ lives, especially supporting the demands of her one son’s participation on an all-star travel hockey team. The couple divorced in 1980 and Carolyn returned to the workforce, where she pursued a successful career at Kraft Foods in Glenview, IL. Over the course of 23 years at Kraft, she rose to the position of International Patent Specialist, working under the General Counsel, where she filed all of the company’s patents, globally. Carolyn retired from Kraft in 2002. During her years in Northbrook, she became deeply involved in the leadership of the Village Presbyterian Church, becoming Deacon and then Elder, and subsequently, an ordained Stephen Minister. During this period, Carolyn reconnected with a friend from long-ago Oklahoma City, Dick Sparks.
Coincidentally, Carolyn and Dick double-dated in High School. Friendship turned to courtship, and eventually, marriage in 2004.
Carolyn relocated to Lynchburg and began the happiest chapter of her life. The couple traveled extensively, reaching many distant destinations, usually with close friends from Lynchburg, and Dick’s Princeton classmates. Carolyn and Dick were active in the Lynchburg community, with significant fund-raising efforts in support of Opera on the James and The Academy of Fine Arts. Dick passed away in 2011, and Carolyn moved to Westminster Canterbury (WC) in 2018. At WC, she continued to be busy and highly involved socially. She served on several committees, was elected to the Residents’ Council, and co-led the team responsible for welcoming new residents.
Carolyn’s life passions were her loving extended family and friends, and of course, her beloved canine companion of twelve years, Skipper. Together they traveled frequently to the east and west coasts to see her sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren, and to Oklahoma to visit with the rest of her family. Carolyn will be sorely missed by everyone who knew her.
Please join us for a celebration of the life of Carolyn Carroll Sparks on Monday, November 14, 2022 at First Presbyterian Church of Lynchburg. A memorial service is planned at 10 a.m. to be followed by a reception at Westminster Canterbury from 11 to 1 p.m. Carolyn went to be with her blessed Lord, Jesus Christ on August 11, 2020. Due to the pandemic, the memorial gathering has been scheduled and postponed twice but now, we are determined to mark her wonderful life on November 14, 2022.
A link to her original obituary is here:
https://tinyurl.com/carolynsparks
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the First Presbyterian Church.
Tharp Funeral Home & Crematory, Lynchburg, is assisting the family.
She graduated from Classen High School in Oklahoma City in 1953 and attended The University of Oklahoma.
She is preceded in death by her husband of seven years, Richard “Dick” Thomas Sparks. She is survived by her children, Randall Carroll Moore (Kate) of Wayland, MA, and Stephen Price Moore (Kristy), of Woodland Hills, CA, and grandchildren Eleanor Louise Moore, Peter William Moore, and Charles Stephen Moore of Wayland MA, Ellen Price Moore of Napa, CA, and Emily Grace Moore of Costa Mesa, CA. She is also survived by her sister Dolores Carroll Dunn (James R., III) of Oklahoma City, and many cousins, nieces, a nephew, and sixteen grand- and great-nieces and nephews.
Carolyn enjoyed a very active personal and work life. In High School and College, she led and participated in many social and service-oriented organizations including her beloved Tri-Delta sorority at the University of Oklahoma. During her youth, a highlight of Carolyn’s summers was attending as a camper, and then returning as a counselor, to Camp Nagawicka in the north woods of Delafield, Wisconsin. She studied classical piano for many years, pursued interests in the arts, and was an accomplished needlepoint artisan and teacher. She was active in garden clubs in every city in which she’s lived, including the Ragged Robin Garden Club in Lynchburg.
Carolyn married Ray Beard Moore in 1956 and lived in Dallas, TX, where her two sons were born in 1960 and 1963. The family moved to Northbrook, IL in 1971. Carolyn was very active in her sons’ lives, especially supporting the demands of her one son’s participation on an all-star travel hockey team. The couple divorced in 1980 and Carolyn returned to the workforce, where she pursued a successful career at Kraft Foods in Glenview, IL. Over the course of 23 years at Kraft, she rose to the position of International Patent Specialist, working under the General Counsel, where she filed all of the company’s patents, globally. Carolyn retired from Kraft in 2002. During her years in Northbrook, she became deeply involved in the leadership of the Village Presbyterian Church, becoming Deacon and then Elder, and subsequently, an ordained Stephen Minister. During this period, Carolyn reconnected with a friend from long-ago Oklahoma City, Dick Sparks.
Coincidentally, Carolyn and Dick double-dated in High School. Friendship turned to courtship, and eventually, marriage in 2004.
Carolyn relocated to Lynchburg and began the happiest chapter of her life. The couple traveled extensively, reaching many distant destinations, usually with close friends from Lynchburg, and Dick’s Princeton classmates. Carolyn and Dick were active in the Lynchburg community, with significant fund-raising efforts in support of Opera on the James and The Academy of Fine Arts. Dick passed away in 2011, and Carolyn moved to Westminster Canterbury (WC) in 2018. At WC, she continued to be busy and highly involved socially. She served on several committees, was elected to the Residents’ Council, and co-led the team responsible for welcoming new residents.
Carolyn’s life passions were her loving extended family and friends, and of course, her beloved canine companion of twelve years, Skipper. Together they traveled frequently to the east and west coasts to see her sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren, and to Oklahoma to visit with the rest of her family. Carolyn will be sorely missed by everyone who knew her.
Please join us for a celebration of the life of Carolyn Carroll Sparks on Monday, November 14, 2022 at First Presbyterian Church of Lynchburg. A memorial service is planned at 10 a.m. to be followed by a reception at Westminster Canterbury from 11 to 1 p.m. Carolyn went to be with her blessed Lord, Jesus Christ on August 11, 2020. Due to the pandemic, the memorial gathering has been scheduled and postponed twice but now, we are determined to mark her wonderful life on November 14, 2022.
A link to her original obituary is here:
https://tinyurl.com/carolynsparks
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the First Presbyterian Church.
Tharp Funeral Home & Crematory, Lynchburg, is assisting the family.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Carolyn Carroll Sparks, please visit our flower store.
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