Carolyn Jean Shafer

Carolyn Shafer was born on August 5, 1941, in Cleveland, Ohio, and spent her early years on the edge of the city with her parents and two sisters. Even then, she showed signs of the curiosity and independence that would shape the rest of her life.

Years later, after her parents retired to Florida’s west coast, Carolyn made a move of her own—to the east coast —with her two children. She eventually married Jim Shafer in Florida, and together they embarked on a life full of exploration and challenge. For ten years, they lived aboard The Morning Tide, a 42-foot sailboat, and circumnavigated the globe, navigating by stars, current, and instinct before returning once again to the Florida coast.

Carolyn was a licensed pilot and often flew her four-seater Beechcraft Musketeer across the state to visit her parents. She later added gliding to her list of achievements, mastering the quiet precision of flight without an engine. She became the first woman certified as a glider pilot in Indian River County—an accomplishment that suited her measured confidence and love of the skies.

Her skillset didn’t stop at flying. Carolyn was also a licensed mariner, a certified NAUI/PADI scuba diver, and a ham radio operator who could make contact from sea or shore. Her curiosity took her beneath the water, across oceans, and into new cultures. Whether she was charting a course by boat, piloting a plane, or diving through coral reefs, she embraced the challenge with quiet determination.

Photography became another way she engaged with the world around her. As an active member of the Vero Beach Photo Club, she traveled far and wide to capture images of landscapes, wildlife, and quiet human moments. Her work received accolades, not for being flashy, but for how it invited people to pause and look closer.

Preceded in death by her parents Edith and Henry Fitzgerald, sister Marjorie, and husband Jim, she leaves behind her sister Betty (John) Luff, her children John (Paula) Drumm, Donna (Mike) Shubel, grandchildren John Broughton, Ashley (Chris) Batsios, Emily (Cameron) Hueneke, Josh Drumm, Ryder Shubel, Nieces/nephew Stephanie (Frank) D'Abarno, Katie (Keith) Gasper, and Aaron Fitzgerald, dear cousins, nine great-grandchildren, and many friends and fellow travelers who shared pieces of the journey.

A private gathering at sea will be held by the family at a later time to honor Carolyn’s life and her deep connection to the water. If you wish to remember her, consider a donation to the Alzheimer’s Foundation in her name.