Carol Toone Woodruff

Carol’s father worked at the post office, and her mother worked as a telephone operator, a proofreader for Conde Nast, and later as a secretary at the high school. Her grandmother, Georgia “Nanny” Tuttle, often looked after Carol and her older sister, Judy, while their parents were at work. When Carol was 11, her sister Joan was born, and sister Deb joined the family two years later. Carol enjoyed being a big sister, fixing breakfast for Joan and Deb or putting them to bed at night while their mother worked the night shift at Conde Nast.

After graduating from Norwalk High School in 1956, Carol attended Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. At a mixer dance she met Williams College student John Woodruff. They married in 1958 and had three children, Mark, Nancy, and Becky. In 1965 the family moved to Baltimore, where John began a career as a journalist for The Baltimore Sun.

In 1969 John served as The Sun’s foreign correspondent in Saigon for a year, and Carol managed the household and the children in Baltimore. During this time Carol also completed her bachelor’s degree, graduating from Goucher College. When John was next assigned to a three-year stint in Hong Kong, Carol packed up the house in Baltimore, took care of the details of moving overseas, and traveled halfway around the world with her three young children.

During their time in Hong Kong the family was introduced to Chinese culture, exploring the markets, shops, restaurants, beaches, and sights of the island. Carol sometimes joined John on his frequent work travels throughout Asia, traveling to Bali before there were tourist hotels, and to remote areas such as Burma and Cambodia. A memorable summer vacation was a sojourn to the Philippines, where the family traveled among the islands on freighter ships. They stayed in a bamboo tree house in Zamboanga, snorkeled on a coral reef, and traveled via outrigger boat to a small island where the residents marveled over the physical appearance of westerners.

The family returned to Baltimore, where Carol re-entered the workforce, working at local insurance agencies. After the children were grown, Carol and John moved to Beijing in 1982, traveling there on the Trans Siberian Railroad from Moscow to Beijing. During their five years there, Carol studied Chinese language and traveled extensively in China and other countries in the region. She wrote entertaining letters home about the challenges and perplexities of living in post-Mao China, where it could, for example, take an entire day to mail a package. She made many close friends, from China and other countries.

Carol and John divorced in 1987. Carol moved to New Haven, Connecticut, where she earned a master’s degree in counseling. She later moved to Brookfield, Connecticut, where she lived for 30 years, working in Putnam County, New York, as a therapist and later as a probation officer. As a probation officer Carol was required to become certified in the use of firearms, a skill that was far out of her wheelhouse and physically challenging for her, but with perseverance she did complete the training.

Carol was known to be particularly empathetic and kind, relating to people from diverse backgrounds. She was genuinely interested in people, was a good listener, and accepted people, flaws and all. She was always there for those in distress who needed to talk to someone, but she also kept abreast of current events and liked to have engaging discussions about issues of the day. Her network of close women friends was especially important to her, supporting her and enriching her life.

Carol was adventurous, curious about the world, and never lost her love of travel. During her retirement she made frequent trips with friends or family to Cape Cod and other places around the country, and traveled internationally to France, Panama, and the Galapagos Islands. It was typical of her that she decided to celebrate her 80th birthday by traveling via snow coach to stay at the Old Faithful area of Yellowstone National Park in January, although she did eventually concede that a snowshoe outing was beyond her.

In 2019, Carol moved to the Broadmead retirement community in Cockeysville, Maryland to be close to family.

Carol was preceded in death by her sister Judy. She is survived by her three children, Mark Woodruff of Parkton, MD, Nancy Woodruff of Whitefish, MT, and Becky Woodruff of White Marsh, MD; three grandchildren, Victoria Woodruff of Whitehall, MD, Chris Woodruff of Whitehall, MD, and Laura Gibbons of New Milford, CT; great-grandchildren Olivia Harrington, Rosie Gibbons, and Charlotte Faucher, of New Milford, CT; daughter-in-law Kathy Woodruff of Whitehall, MD; sisters Joan Setzer of Newington, CT, and Deb Kalwat of Walnut Cove, NC; brother-in-law William McCartney of Delaware, OH; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and her cat, Boo.

A celebration of Carol's life will be held on Saturday, May 24, 2025, at the Broadmead Retirement Community Auditorium, 13801 York Road, Cockeysville, MD 21030 starting at 11 AM.