Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, a daughter of the late James W. and Mildred L. (Henckel) McGinn, she spent her youth in Worcester and lived in Maine and Swansea before moving to Clinton in 1993.
A graduate of Cathedral High School in Portland, Maine, class of 1946, she worked as a telephone operator for the former New England Telephone and Telegraph Company for over twenty years before retiring in 1985. While living in Swansea she was a communicant of the former Our Lady of Fatima Church.
Carolyn was also a board member of United Families, Inc., and involved for many years in the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
She was "Bestemor" (meaning “Best Mother” in Norwegian) to her grandchildren, great-grandchildren and many others also adopted that name for her. She was an avid watcher of classical movies and musicals, and loved to recite stories and poems from her childhood to her beloved grandchildren, great-grandchildren and anyone else who was around to listen.
She is survived by one daughter, Jane E. Monahan Hylan and her companion James Martell of Clinton, CT; two sons, James C. Monahan and his wife Loretta L. of Seekonk, Paul F. Monahan Jr. and his wife Cynthia of Somerset, seven grandchildren, Kristen Hylan and her husband Kyle Thetonia, Kevin Hylan and his wife Kate (Ballantine) Hylan, Brendan and Paul Hylan, Julianne, Katherine and Patrick Monahan; two great-granddaughters, Koralyn Thetonia and Roxanne Hylan, and several nieces and nephews. She was the mother of the late Kevin J. Monahan, grandmother of the late Elizabeth Monahan, and sister of the late Jane Harrington and Martha McGinn.
Her Visitation will be held on Wednesday, May 2, 2018 from 10:00 to 11:00AM in the Waring-Sullivan Home at Birchcrest, 189 Gardners Neck Road, Swansea followed be her Funeral Service at 11:00AM. Relatives and friends invited. Contributions in her honor may be made to the National Institute of Mental Health, 6001 Executive Blvd., Rm 6200, Bethesda, MD 20852 or National Alliance on Mental Illness, 529 Main St., Suite 1M17, Boston, MA 02129. Burial in Mount Hope Cemetery, Swansea.
