On December 7, I lost a dear friend and the Observer lost a very special volunteer. Carol Martin passed away peacefully.
Pictured second row, third from the right, at the 2024 Volunteer Party is Carol Martin with her feisty, enthusiastic energy. She loved gatherings and she was having a blast with everyone.
Carol was a volunteer at the Observer from day one in 1999 until she retired a couple of years ago. She contributed enormously to the paper performing multiple jobs – Co-Editor in Chief, Editor-of-the-Month, a prepper, a proofreader, a writer, a columnist with her Book Review column for over 20 years (her book reviews were engaging and piqued your interest in reading the books) and anything else she could offer.
Carol had a great personality which put a smile on your face while working on the paper. When the paper transitioned to color, she brought a huge bunch of colorful balloons to the office to celebrate. Supporting the volunteers, she would bring in hot “out of the oven” delicious oatmeal raisin cookies for everyone. Lester Smith loved them – inspiring him to stay longer and write more articles for the paper.
Carol cared about community. Every week she would make sandwiches for Enfield Loaves and Fishes. She volunteered at The Second Chance Shop where her wit and humor were on full display. For years she attended the town’s Memorial Day parade and hosted a gathering afterwards which we all enjoyed – her homemade pies were “to die for!”
Carol’s two loves were family and animals. She cherished family events with competitive games which she wanted to win! She talked a lot about wanting to attend her grandson’s wedding in August and she did – filling her heart with tears of joy. Her love for animals was limitless. Her dogs meant the world to her, rescuing older dogs to give them a second chance in life. Winnie, her son’s dog, gave Carol much joy and unconditional love right to the end.
I played bridge with her every week for many years, with her final outing on December 4. She was mentally sharp enough to play bridge and looked forward to our bantering at the bridge table. She was a fearless bidder, pleasantly surprising us with her aggressiveness. That day, we played for hours, enjoying her many classic stories, even though we had heard them multiple times.
I will deeply miss Carol, but her spirit and love of life will forever be with me.