J. Carol Light (Joan Carol Light) was born in the Bronx, NY on September 5, 1936 and passed away in Rome, NY on May 25, 2023 at age 86. She was the daughter of Helen Ann Wallis, born Walukus, and Joseph Clarence Light. As J.C. Light, she was named with her father's initials. Carol had no brothers or sisters other than an older brother, Albert, who was stillborn. The first several years of her life were spent in New York City and subsequently, the family of three moved to Connecticut where they resided in Waterbury, which was a Lithuanian immigrant enclave. Both her mother's family and her father's, whose name was Ziburus and was later Anglicized to "Light," were from Lithuanian immigrant families. Carol attended St. Margaret's School in Waterbury, CT and graduated in the class of 1954. At one point, there was a fire and the family lost their home, moving in with relatives.

Helen Light was told her daughter was a bright child and she should offer enrichment and so she did everything she could, frequently taking her to museums and cultural events. They were not moneyed, but her mother managed to expose Carol to various forms of cultural and intellectual life. While growing up, Carol traveled to all the 48 contiguous states with her mother. Later, on the honeymoon for her second marriage, she would travel to Hawaii and finally take a cruise to Alaska with her friend, Charlie Perrine, in retirement.

Carol was the first member of her family to attend college. Her mother said they had a choice. They could purchase a home or send Carol to college, so Carol attended the University of Maryland. Carol was interested in journalism and early on worked at paper reporting on local events. An Editor in Chief pin was found in her effects.

Carol met Orin Darby Winn, an engineering student, at the University of Maryland and their courtship began. Carol did her student teaching at Buzzards Point near Baltimore, MD. Her students were in the tenth or twelfth grade and she was well received and enjoyed teaching. She graduated from the University of Maryland in 1958 with a Bachelor's of Arts in English and a minor in Speech. Carol Light and Orin Winn were married on January 1, 1958 in the Chapel at the University of Maryland. They lived in Towson, MD and they would remain married for eleven years.

Orin decided he wanted to see the world, so he took a job with ACF Industries in College Park, MD and Carol and Orin moved to Phoenix, Arizona where they rented a house on the road that led to Scottsdale. Orin was working as a field engineer maintaining flight simulators to train pilots at the Sky Harbor Airport to fly the F-86. Subsequently, they moved to Capistrano Beach in California where they rented a house for nine months on the water in the off season. Carol loved the beach and the location. They could see Catalina Island from the house on a clear day. Carol would spend decades hoping to return to the area. They moved to nearby Laguna Beach and rented a house there, and then moved to Garden Grove, California and at that point, Carol's parents moved out and joined them. Orin worked for ACF Industries at El Toro, and commuted to Los Alamitos Naval Base living out of a suitcase while Carol stayed at home. Orin was Senior Research Engineer and worked on designing the electronic controls for the Minute Man Missile system at Autonetics, a division of North American Aviation. Carol became pregnant with her first child, Melanie Eileen Winn, and they decided they should buy a house. They purchased a corner house in a new subdivision in Villa Park, CA. with a large yard on Agate St. and they planted peach and plum trees in the far back. There was a peacock farm across the street on Meats. Orin built an extra den and family room as well as a kitchen extension to expand the house for their new family. Melanie was born August 30th, 1961 and then on December 16, 1962, a second child, Valerie Jacqueline Irene Winn (Named after her two grandmothers - Helen went by "Jacqueline," and Irene to honor her paternal grandmother) was born. Carol had wanted to get her Master's Degree for teaching, but became occupied with motherhood. During this time Carol completed Psychiatric Crisis Intervention Training in December of 1966 and began volunteering at the Community Mental Health Program at Orange County Medical Center. She answered the suicide line and spoke to people having mental health emergencies.

The marriage ended six years after the birth of Melanie, and Carol began dating through a group called Parents without Partners. She met a man named Edward Wislocki and the two of them married on August 23, 1968 at the Chapel on the naval base in San Diego. Carol's daughters were the flower girls. For their honeymoon, Ed and Carol traveled to Hawaii at which point Carol had visited 49 states. Carol and the girls moved from Agate St. in Villa Park, to Wheeler Street in Orange, CA. Ed had three children of his own, Robert, Nancy and Dave Wislocki, who were older and lived with their mother Mary. During this period, Carol obtained a Standard Teaching Credential from the State of California to teach in secondary school. She began teaching for the Orange County Unified School District as a Home and Hospital teacher, either teaching students who were too ill to attend school on a long-term basis, or those who had emotional difficulties.

Ed Wislocki was a Commander in the Navy. He was, at that point, in the Naval Reserve and in the early days of the marriage, the four would spend the summers in San Diego, CA where they rented a house on Rosecrans St. Ed would teach algebra and Marine Biology and other subjects at the naval base. During the school year, Ed was a counselor at Mc Fadden Jr. High School in Santa Ana.

In her spare time in later years, Carol enjoyed oil painting and studied at Studio Isolde. She also enjoyed attending the theater and socializing.

After a number of years of marriage, Ed suffered a stroke. He was playing baseball as he sometimes did on the weekend, and drove himself to the hospital. A subsequent stroke was suffered at home and he passed away, leaving Carol widowed on October 29, 1978.

Carol went back to college to take classes in Public Relations at Chapman College in Orange, CA. She subsequently he obtained a certificate in Public Relations in March of 1984 through the University of California, Irvine University Extension. During this time, she also published an article called "Cashing in on Olympic Fever: Former Gold Medalists Write Official Olympic Book." This was published in November of 1983 in the Pacific Horizon Magazine.

With her new public relations skills, Carol found employment at Forest Lawn and eventually became the Educational Director. Forest Lawn is not only a cemetery but a vast property including numerous museums and multiple chapels and churches. Her work at Forest Lawn involved creating educational events for the general public and for school children. One of her most publicized works was the Michelangelo exhibit at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, CA. The event was held at the Memorial Court of Honor which holds the most complete collection of reproduction statuary representing the work of Michelangelo. She also organized a large Mesoamerican exhibit at Forest Lawn among other events. Additionally, Carol was involved in the Memorial Day Services in 1995 sponsored by the United Veterans Council of Long Beach at the Forest Lawn located in Long Beach. She received an award for distinguished service from the Veterans Committee for the "People to People" program. In 1987 Carol was honored with a certificate of Merit in recognition of outstanding individual achievement and civic contributions from the Orange County Board of Supervisors. Additionally, Carol worked with Los Angeles Mayor Thomas Bradley's administration on a project in conjunction with Forest Lawn. Carol received a Certificate of Achievement "in grateful appreciation for participating and contributing to the Forest Lawn B.E.S.T. Program." In 1987 she received a letter of thanks for her efforts through the Glendale Committee to Celebrate the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution.

The commute to Glendale was long with traffic so she eventually sold the Wheeler Street property and moved to a condominium in Pasadena, CA. There she befriended Charles Perrine, a neighbor and widower. They were friends and at one point, Charlie and Carol took a cruise to Alaska, this being the fiftieth and final state she would visit. When he died, he left her his property on Colorado Blvd. on the route of the Rose Parade. It was located just above the arroyo where groups annually worked on floats for the Tournament of Roses. Carol was involved in a Tournament of Roses float in the California, Nevada, Hawaii division.

During her time at Forest Lawn, she was proud to be a member of the Northwest Glendale Lion's Club. This was during period when women were first admitted. She was also a member of the Sunrise Kiwanis in Glendale, CA. where she is said to have done good work and served two times as vice-president. She was the representative for Forest Lawn in the Glendale Chamber of Commerce and served as secretary for two years. She received a certificate of appreciation from the Glendale Chamber of Commerce in 1980 for her work with the Chamber Community Relations Committee.

After Carol retired, she began work on the Orange County Commission on the Status of Women where she served as one of fifteen members. She received a Certificate of Appreciation in June of 1987 for her participation in the Public Relations Committee. She freelance published an article on electronic text management. Also, during retirement Carol began experimenting with the relatively new technology of digital photography. She began working photographing wildlife in her backyard, primarily raccoons. She would provide various props for them such as tables, chairs, etc. and she would feed the raccoons and photograph them. She entered a number of photo contests and had some of her wildlife photographs published and won several awards for her work. She was a Distinguished Member of the International Society of Photography that published her raccoon photo named "Happy Holiday Quartet" as well as a skunk and raccoon photo called "Peace and Harmony." She was also recognized for her photograph "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall Who's the Fairest of Them All?" which featured her young granddaughter, Janet, in front of a mirror. Her works were published in the bookClassic Moments in 2001, and in Reflections of the World also in 2001 and in Golden Memories in the same year. Carol created a line of raccoon post card and some note cards featuring her wildlife photography.

Eventually Carol moved to a condominium in Dana Point, CA. Many years before, she and her first husband, Orin had rented a house on Capistrano Beach down the road which she had loved. She always hoped to return to that area. She lived there for more than a decade.

In September of 2017, Carol moved to Fayetteville, NY where she lived in Independent Living at Maple Downs, not far from her daughter, Melanie. Subsequently she moved to Sedgewick Heights Assisted Living in Syracuse, NY in November of 2019. The pandemic years were hard there, but she met a friend, Ed, whose company she enjoyed and made other friends there as well.

Throughout her adult life, Carol owned consecutive Pomeranians. When she had a second dog, it was a toy poodle. She was a fashionable woman and gregarious and tended to make friends easily. She will be missed by many. While in Pasadena and Dana Point, Carol was a member of the Glendale Science of Mind Church which is now defunct.

Carol Winn died on May 25th, 2023 at 4:04 a.m. in Rome, NY. She leaves behind two daughters - Melanie Zimmer and Valerie Winn, and a grandchild "Jonus" Dominguez.

A remembrance for J. Carol Winn will be held at Sedgewick Heights Assisted Living on July 1, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. A ceremony placing Carol in her niche will be held at Forest Lawn in Glendale, CA. in early autumn.