Carolyn McDowell Walter

Carolyn McDowell Walter died July 13, 2022, in Auburn, New York. She had been living at the Skaneateles home of her daughter Helen Walter-Terrinoni and son-in-law Al Terrinoni. Her daughter Anna Chappell and grandchildren shared in her care. Funeral services will be held at Willard Chapel, 17 Nelson St in Auburn, New York on Saturday September 24 at 2 pm, with Pastor Val White officiating. A memorial gathering at the Chapel will follow from 3-4:30 pm.

Carolyn McDowell was born September 2, 1927, in Elizabethtown, North Carolina to John Alexander McDowell and Lois McCree McNeill McDowell. Tall and strong from working after school in tobacco fields, she played basketball in high school and field hockey in college. In addition to her work-study scholarship and dual major in Bible and Math, Carolyn studied Spanish, played the organ and piano, joined a literary society and took part in plays. She graduated from Flora MacDonald College for Women in Red Springs, NC with a B.A. in 1948.

Carolyn worked for the U.S. Navy as a civilian “calculator” at the David Watson Taylor Model Basin in W. Bethesda, Maryland before entering the graduate missionary preparation program at Scarritt College for Christian Workers in Nashville, Tennessee.

After completing her training and student teaching in the Bronx, Carolyn was sent by the Methodist Board of Missions to Cuba, where she attended the University of Havana for a year before taking up her mission assignment. Here she learned fluent academic Spanish, but also the street slang of Havana’s working class neighborhoods. She also added the accordion to her repertoire of instruments.

Carolyn taught English as a second language in Cuba at a church-sponsored school in Matanzas and then at Colegio Buena Vista, a boarding school for girls. She was teaching there during the coup that brought President Batista to power, and when she left Cuba in 1953 in the midst of civil unrest, a piece of her heart remained behind.

Back in Elizabethtown, Carolyn taught Spanish in the local high school. As a result of the courtship between her cousin Janice McNeill and Duke Seminary student, H. Stanley Mullins, Carolyn accompanied Janice to the Duke-Navy Football game, which was interrupted by Hurricane Hazel. There she met Stan’s roommate and her future husband, William N. Walter – quite a memorable beginning to their relationship. The future Reverends Walter and Mullins officiated at each other’s weddings the following year (1955). The newlyweds’ honeymoon summer as counselors at Camp Don Lee in Arapahoe, North Carolina was equally adventurous, thanks to two more hurricanes. The camp was evacuated when Hurricane Connie hit the coast. They rode out the strong winds of Hurricane Diane a few weeks later, and loved to recall the stillness and peace in the eye of the storm.

Carolyn, now Mrs. Walter, soon moved to her husband’s home in New York State, where she took on the dual roles of minister’s wife and mother in a series of rural parishes in the Finger Lakes. In addition to raising the six children born between 1956 and 1965, she sometimes served as a substitute teacher in their local school. She was the pianist/organist for church many services and weddings in the parishes they served: Lodi, Tyrone, Borodino and Union Springs in the Finger Lakes, South Otselic and Pharsalia in Chenango County to the east, Weedsport, Brick Church and Montezuma in Cayuga County.

Carolyn remained fascinated by other culture and hosted visiting missionaries from other countries during the holidays and served as an unofficial mentor and English tutor for immigrants. She taught her children by example that, as a matter of respect, they should learn to greet people in their own language. Her fluent Spanish made many newcomers to the US feel a little at home, even bringing a smile to the faces of medical professionals when she was a hospital patient toward the end of her life.

An advocate for civil rights, women’s and children’s issues and restorative justice, physical and mental disabilities, educational access, and immigration and refugee concerns, Carolyn’s life reflected her principles. She gave up her membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) because of their segregationist stance in the late 1930s and ‘40s. As a couple the Walters were active in several interfaith and social justice initiatives, forming strong bonds across denominational barriers. Carolyn, Rev. Walter, his sister and brother-in-law Paul and Agnes Brechue collaborated with other community leaders to open the Auburn Hospitality Center for families of incarcerated men at Auburn Prison in 1972. Carolyn was a frequent volunteer there, which was especially helpful to Spanish-speaking families. The Walters were also instrumental in helping form a Central New York branch of Offender Aid and Restoration (OAR), an organization focused on restorative justice.

Carolyn’s language skills and educational training were put to good use when she joined Literacy Volunteers of America (LVA) in the 1970s as an ESL tutor. What began as a volunteer position at Auburn Maximum Security Prison became a career when was hired as a full-time teacher to teach math and English from basic through GED levels in English and in Spanish. “Mrs. Walter” moved her desk to the back of the room to give students better access to the blackboards, telling them, “you are the most important people here,” and helped introduce the Compadre/Helper peer counseling program in the prison as a “Train the Trainer” volunteer. During this time Carolyn was also trained in conflict resolution skills through the Quaker “Alternatives to Violence Project” (AVP).  

After her retirement, Carolyn continued to be active in church activities including the local United Methodist Mission Board in Union Springs, and was an early volunteer for Sexual Assault Victims Advocate Resource (SAVAR) of Cayuga County. She continued to be sensitive to the cultural and language differences affecting those around her.

Both Carolyn and “Bill” volunteered countless hours of service to underserved members of the community outside of formal organizations and without recognition. Women sought her wise counsel in family and career matters. Her children were often included and learned the importance of caring for their fellow-travelers in life.

Carolyn was predeceased by her deeply-loved husband of over sixty years, the Rev. William N. Walter, her parents and her sisters, Vivian McDowell, Lois McDowell Harrelson and Gene McDowell Sanderson and cousins Janice McNeill Mullins and Iris McNeill King. She is survived by her six children and fourteen grandchildren: Carolyn L Ostrander (Vance Ostrander) and children Mercy Reiger (Michael) and Aaron Keisch-Walter; Nelson Walter and children Jamie Walter, Julie Walter and Mac Walter; David J. Walter (Tomoko Miyakawa) and children Jennifer Walter, Royce Walter (Jennifer Fowler) and Shannon Walter; Jonathan M. Walter (Kathryn Lay) and children Kelly Walter, Ian Walter; Helen Walter-Terrinoni (Al Terrinoni); Anna Chappell and children Vivian Chappell Cox (Dylan Cox), Tom Chappell, Kate Chappell, Will Chappell; two cousins, Myrtle McNeil Starnes and William McNeill; nephews John, Gary and Paul Harrelson, Richard and Ellery Sanderson and niece Genie Sanderson Stewart.

The family suggest contributions to one of the following nonprofit/volunteer organizations: in lieu of flowers.

       InterFaith Works of CNY, 1010 James Street, Syracuse, NY 13203 (315) 449-3552, info@ifwcny.org, https://www.interfaithworkscny.org/donate/

       Literacy Volunteers Cayuga County, 12 Allen St. Auburn, NY 13021 (315) 253-5241 Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/literacycayuga/about

       SAVAR of Cayuga Counseling, 17 E Genesee Street, Auburn, NY 13021 https://healthworkforce.211lifeline.org/detail.php?id=55194903

       Harriet Tubman Memorial AME Zion Church, 90 Franklin Street, Auburn, NY 13021 (315)252-2000, https://www.harriettubmanmemorialamez.org

       Alternatives to Violence Project: AVP-USA, INC, 2136 Ford Pkwy #5359, Saint Paul, MN 55116 (888) 278-7820, info@avpusa.org.

       United Methodist Global Ministries: Global Ministries/UMCOR, GPO, P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY 10087-9068;

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Carolyn McDowell Walter, please visit our floral store.