Portland, OR — A one-room school teacher at age 17, Carolyn Orwiler raised five children and had a long teaching career—all while her husband, Bob, was often gone at sea with the Navy. Before moving to Oregon in 1965, she lived in nine different states, moving at least 20 times in 30 years. Yet all that moving didn’t slow her down. She joined the Welcome Wagon in new places and got to work building her new community. She also volunteered with the USO, welcoming service members home at the airport.
Carolyn instilled her love of reading, art, and music in her kids and grandkids. They held living room concerts with Carolyn and daughter Patti playing the piano, son Chuck on his trombone, and daughter Paula on her accordion. Carolyn made animated recordings of stories and mailed the tapes to her grandkids overseas. She enjoyed cooking, baking, crafts, and refinishing old furniture. Apparently, she was merciless when it came to games. Carolyn “never let the kids win, no matter how young they were. If you wanted to beat Mom, you had to earn it,” her children said.
In her 60s, she went to Europe by herself to go on a barge and bicycle tour. She biked 20-30 miles each day to visit museums and cities along the way. Carolyn tried parasailing at age 73, skydiving at age 77, and a triathlon at age 78! She is an accomplished pianist and played well into her nineties. She’s known for her love of live theater, the symphony, botanical gardens, the great outdoors, baseball with a cold beer, dancing, popcorn, and steamed Maryland Blue Crab. She has lived at Avamere at Bethany for the last three years. The community celebrated her 100th birthday with a cake and party.
“Carolyn is a very active resident in our community. She is committed to her exercise classes each week, always has a smile on her face and is open to try new things,” reports Jessie Cortez, Life Enrichment Director at Avamere at Bethany in Portland, Oregon. “You can see the light she brings to others in the community.”
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About Avamere
Founded in 1995 and based in Tigard, Oregon, Avamere provides assisted living, independent living, and memory care, in Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Utah, and Nebraska. Backed by nearly 30 years of experience, Avamere remains committed to setting the standard for quality, compassion, and innovation in senior living. For more information, please visit Avamere.com.