Retzlaff, Carolyn

1934 - 2021

Carolyn Moeller Retzlaff, beloved mother, friend, and retired Bexley City Schools teacher, died peacefully at her Bexley home on Aug. 27, 2021. She was 87. She was preceded in death by parents Norman and Emma Smith Moeller of Saginaw, Mich. She is survived by son, Peter and daughter-in-law, Stephanie Del Valle of New York, N.Y.; daughter, Cathryn Creno of Phoenix, Ariz.; sister, Judith and brother-in-law, Thomas Bear, of Saginaw; and nephew, Steven and his wife, Mara Bear of Woodland Hills, Calif. Carolyn was born May 1, 1934 in Bay City, Mich. She was raised in Saginaw and attended Arthur Hill High School during the happy days of the late 1940s and early 1950s. In school, she was active in clubs including drama and part of a joyful group of friends that loved pranks and parties. She graduated in 1952. Carolyn’s joie de vivre continued at the University of Michigan, where she discovered her lifelong love of botany and horticulture. She served as publicity secretary for the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority, a social organization she remained connected to all of her life. She graduated with a bachelor’s of education degree in 1956. She spent a year teaching elementary school in Chicago before moving to Columbus to earn a master’s degree in education from the Ohio State University and begin a family. She authored a thesis titled “Developing Creative Thinking Through the Arts.” For most of the next decade, Carolyn enjoyed being an at-home mother and involved with the Columbus Art Museum’s Beaux Arts Auxiliary. When her children were elementary school age, Carolyn returned to the classroom at Bexley Schools. For the better part of 35 years, she taught third grade at Montrose and Cassingham. Carolyn thrived in Bexley’s academic and child-centered culture. She earned 45 additional graduate credits in education, a reading supervisor’s cer

tificate, and a prestigious

statewide “Excellence in the Teaching Profession” award from Ohio State’s College of Education. Her academic awards include membership in Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Kappa Delta, and Phi Lambda Theta. Carolyn developed a passion for Ohio history during her years in the classroom. She served on the board of trustees and was an educational liaison for the Bexley Historical Society. Students recall her third

grade classroom filled with

artifacts and replicas of items used by Ohio mound builders and pioneers. She and colleagues wrote a popular student workbook, “My Ohio.” Carolyn began practicing Christian Science as a teenager and was a member of the First Church of Christ, Scientist in Columbus for 63 years. She served on many committees, was a Sunday school

teacher and, briefly, on the

board of trustees. She most recently chaired the church music committee. Carolyn also spent more than 50 years as an avid international traveler. She took her mother and children on three-week excursions to places like Europe and Jamaica in the 1960s, a time when many never considered boarding a jet. Later, she traveled with friends on cruise ships, cars, and railways throughout the United Kingdom, Canada, South America, Russia, France, Greece, and the Caribbean. Her favorite destination was New York, where she saw her son Peter, a jazz percussionist, perform at renowned venues including the Rainbow Room and the Blue Note. After retirement, Carolyn embraced her passion for plants and became a Franklin County Master Gardener. She put in many hours at Ohio State’s Chadwick Arboretum and Learning Gardens and was proud to participate in building and fundraising for raised beds that allowed disabled people to garden. Her own north Bexley home was a showplace of Ohio native plants with color three seasons of the year. More than two decades after her retirement, Carolyn’s Bexley garage remained a storehouse of teaching materials. New teachers learned they could come by for resources and help. To Carolyn’s delight, her daughter changed careers to teaching and she was able to pull out a

file of reading instruction

resources to help Cathryn ace one of her courses. Carolyn became a docent at the Columbus Art Museum, and a member of the Franklin Garden Club and the Bexley Activities Club. She recently completed a two-month training with the Bexley Police Department Civilian Police Academy. Afterward, she planted a garden in front of the department’s new station. Carolyn also rarely missed a meeting of her beloved Wednesday Literary Club, for which members prepare in-depth reports on current

non-fiction to share at

bi-monthly meetings. Her children would like to express gratitude to Carolyn’s sisterhood of Ohio friends, who shared spiritual and emotional support through her years of career, single parenthood, and retirement. They include Sylvia Acton, Emily Manierre, Anita Allen, Becky Wright, Dareth Gerlach, Melissa Baker, Tami Morris, Carol Pfau, Suzy Levine, Crystal Salt, and Karen Kennedy. Services are private. In

lieu of flowers, the family

suggests donations be sent to Chadwick Arboretum and Learning Gardens at giveto.osu.edu, or to your own favorite organization. Arrangements by EVANS FUNERAL HOME, 4171 E. Livingston Ave. www.evansfuneralhome.net