Carolyn Woods Milley

KENNEBUNK – Carolyn Woods Milley was born July 28, 1927 in Worcester, Mass, daughter of Frank A and Ruth M (Tainter) Widegren, She passed away peacefully Dec. 8, 2020 in Kennebunk of natural causes.

She was a graduate of Middlebury College and did graduate work at Cornell University. She worked as a dietitian at the University of Vermont and in food research at Arthur D. Little in Cambridge, Mass. Later in life she worked as a real estate agent and as an antiques dealer.

Carolyn married Frederick J Milley in Worcester, Mass. in 1957 and they lived primarily in Reading, Mass., where they raised their children, then West Newbury, Mass. and Saco, Maine, while keeping their favorite home in Ocean Park, Maine.

Carolyn served on the boards of several charitable organizations and was an outspoken advocate for the mentally retarded, her daughter Beth Milley being profoundly retarded. She was chair of the Board of Trustees for the Hogan Regional Center for the Retarded, was on the Board of the Concerned Citizens for the Mentally Retarded and was a longtime member of the Coalition of Families and Advocates for the Retarded and the Voice of the Retarded.

She was deeply involved and served as a Board member of the Ocean Park Association on behalf of the Ocean Park Chautauqua community. She and Fred served several roles and she created a permanent exhibit on Ocean Park history located in the Old Orchard Beach Historical Society.

She is survived by her son Jonathan J and his wife Gabriella and their children Alexander and Isabel Milley of Princeton, N.J.; her son Robb D of Vista, Calif.; and her son Ethan W and his wife Marilyn and their sons, Benjamin, Joseph, and David of Marietta, Ga.. Her daughter Beth resides in Danvers, Mass. She is also survived by her sister Phyllis; and her nieces and nephew.

Donations in her memory would be welcomed by the:

Ocean Park Association

PO Box 7296

Ocean Park, ME 04063 (www.oceanpark.org) or

Maine Special Olympics (www.somaine.org/get-involved/ways-to-donate)


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