Carol Christine Devens

On Monday, June 22, 2020, Carol Christine (Cambio) Devens, loving devoted wife, fabulous mother of four boys, grandmother, and great grandmother, passed away at the age of 81. Carol was born in Washington, DC, on December 15, 1938. She was in the first graduating class of Wakefield HS in Arlington, and attended Mary Washington College. Carol married John W. Devens of Arlington upon his graduation from West Point in 1958. A “career Army wife,” she expertly balanced volunteering, leading Army spouse organizations, loving friendships, cooking, painting, crafts, and making a wonderful home to raise four boys who now miss her terribly. Two of those years were without John, who was deployed to Vietnam and Thailand. Carol toughly carried on, rearing her four young boys. Like most Army families, Carol lived in many places and houses over the years and used her artistic decorating talents to create warm, welcoming homes in all of them, while John served his duty. In post-Army years, they lived in Virginia, the UK and Colorado, where Carol grew to love the flowers and scenery that reminded her of the places they had lived in Europe. She loved Vail in particular, with its abundant wildflowers and Euro-alpine ambiance. As her battle with Alzheimer’s began, John and Carol returned home to Northern Virginia, where her story sadly ends. Carol was known for her beauty, grace, style and heart, and she was a legendary devotee to the color blue. She loved beautiful things: flowers and flower arrangements, fabrics, blankets, sweaters, and angels. In all of these, being blue made them better! We hope that she sees plenty of blue in Heaven, and we will continue to see her in the blues around us. Carol was preceded in death by her father, Edward P. Cambio, her Mother, Christine (Parker) Cambio, brother Edward Cambio, and sister Arlene (Cambio) Kuser. She is survived by: John, her loving husband of 62 years; her children and their spouses, John and Sarah, Chris and Teresa, Michael and Lorraine, and Ted and Diane; as well as 10 grandchildren, and 9 great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org).