Caroline Alice Franklin

Caroline Alice Franklin

07/12/1952 - 11/12/2021

Carol Franklin died unexpectedly on November 12, 2021. She was born in Wenatchee, Washington in 1952 to Jean and Glenn Franklin. At five she started her lifelong obsession with all things to do with horses; she had her first horse when she was twelve. By her late teens she was a very accomplished rider. 

She and her younger sister were fortunate to have parents who were adventurers. The family moved to American Samoa when she was 18. She travelled with family and friends to many islands in the South Pacific. she went to University in New Zealand for two years. When her parents moved to the Philippines, she travelled with her sister through Australia, New Guinea, Thailand and all around the Philippines. 

She moved to Bellingham, Washington to attend Western Washington University, and graduated in 1976 with a bachelor's degree in Biology. She went to Jamaica with the Peace Corps in 1978 to 1981, where she taught fish farming. After Peace Corps she went to Ireland in 1981 to 1982 as a riding instructor at the thoroughbred training farm where she got certificates from the British Horse society, in Horsemanship and Assistant Training Instructor. 

In May 1983, she met her future husband Rick Byers when they were working as seasonal wildlife biologists at the North Kaibab. Her next job was working as a fishery biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service. She was on Japanese and Korean trawlers in the Bering Sea where she was the only U.S. citizen and the only woman on board.

She and Rick enrolled in the University of Arizona, where she was certified as an elementary teacher and taught in Morristown for six years. They moved to Sierra Vista and she taught 6th  and 4th grades at Village Meadows Elementary, Apache Middle School, and Huachuca Mountain Elementary for nearly thirty years. She enjoyed developing units that incorporated her travels and science background. Units included Crime Scene analysis, wolf behavior, bats and field trips to the Grey Hawk Nature Center to study ecology. Hundreds of students benefited from her enthusiasm and expertise. She retired in June 2020.

When she wasn't hiking or riding, she was cooking. Friends and relatives still talk about the dinner parties she would give, including a never ending supply of mouth-watering pies and cookies. 

Carol never wanted to be in the spotlight; she had a long requested there be no memorial when she passed. As much as we are shocked and grieved by her sudden death, we do know she had a life well lived. 

If anyone wants to commemorate Carol please send a donation to the San Diego School for the Blind at https://www.sdcb.org.

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