Caroline Augusta Muhlenberg Hufford-Anderson

Caroline Muhlenberg Hufford-Anderson, 96, died September 24, 2019 at Goodwin House, Falls Church, VA, from symptoms related to dementia. Active in Arlington and the broader community for nearly 60 years, she was an accomplished sculptor dedicated to themes of compassion, justice, and family.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Frederick A. and Elizabeth Y. Muhlenberg; her sister Alice Elizabeth (Betty) Muhlenberg; her eldest son Henry M. Hufford, and husbands Howard S. Hufford and Delwin M. Anderson.

Caroline is survived by her sister Frederica M. Bunge, Piedmont, CA; brother J.D.S. Muhlenberg (Margitta), Vienna, VA, four sons and daughters-in-law – Frederick Hufford (Ann Ulmschneider), Nicholas Hufford (Lisa), Arlington, VA; Stephen Hufford (Drusilla), McLean, VA; Mark Hufford (Leslie Bland), Loreto, BCS, México; by step-daughter, Linda Anderson of Port Ludlow, WA; by nine grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, five nieces and nephews, and by numerous grandnieces and grandnephews.

Caroline engaged in social action issues at Rock Spring United Church of Christ in Arlington for decades. She was proud of attending and supporting the 1963 March on Washington, teaching art to disadvantaged children in Washington, DC, and helping design and implement The Healing Garden at the Whitman-Walker Clinic in Arlington, after Henry’s tragic death of AIDS in 1994. Promise, her sculpture from that Garden, is now in the Knoll Garden at Goodwin House.

Born in 1923, she grew up in and around Reading, PA where her father was a prominent architect, civic leader and Congressman. Caroline attended The Knox School of Cooperstown, NY, and Reading High School. Entering Wellesley College at age 16, she earned a BA in Romance Languages in 1943.

Working as a translator for the Dept. of State and others, she was proficient in English, Spanish, French, German, Greek, Latin, Portuguese, and some Russian. Her language skills were honed as the family accompanied Howard on CIA postings to Cyprus and Germany. In Cyprus, she wrote Greek in Your House, a handbook of common usage and grammar.

While raising five boys in Arlington, Caroline refocused her love of art, studying at the Corcoran School, Catholic University, and Glen Echo Art School. Beginning in clay, stone and wood, she forged a career in steel, learning as an apprentice at Stinnett's Welding in Fairfax. She became an innovative and accomplished metal sculptor, known for crafting intricate details of molten metal.

In the early 70's she created Woman Power, the iconic 7-foot-tall steel woman gracing the atrium at Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads. Her commissioned bronze busts of her ancestor John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, a Lutheran pastor and brigadier general in the American Revolution, who later served in the first, third, and fifth U.S. House of Representatives, and the U.S. Senate, are on display at the Historic Courthouse, Woodstock, VA, and in Peter Muhlenberg Memorial Park, Washington, DC. Caroline enjoyed creating liturgical art for churches, including the Galilee Cross, at Rock Spring UCC in Arlington.

Caroline was honored with a “Person of Vision Award – Women Sustaining the American Spirit” by the Arlington County Commission on the Status of Women.

A memorial service celebrating Caroline's life will be held at Arlington's Rock Spring United Church of Christ on Wednesday, October 2 at 3:00PM.

In lieu of flowers, donations honoring Caroline's life can be made to: Whitman-Walker Health (formerly Whitman-Walker Clinic) , Easter Seals Child Development Center of Northern Virginia, Arlington Street People's Assistance Network, or Arlington Free Clinic.