Carolyn Carey Bondurant

She was born in 1919 in Portlock (Chesapeake) Virginia., the daughter of Joseph William Carey and Clara Marguerite Wood Carey. She was a graduate of Portlock High School and attended Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia, followed by a brief career as a school teacher in Norfolk County.

She married her sweetheart from first grade, Walton Gibson Bondurant, and they moved to Hampton, Virginia where he worked for NASA Langley. The family moved to Riverdale in Hampton, and she continued to live there for 60 years, actually becoming a “Hamptonian”, serving as a Pink Lady at the hospital, forming the first Riverdale Garden Club, walking and chatting daily with her neighbors and friends and, after the loss of her husband, traveling with Celine Cornette. She loved her flowers, the birds in her yard, and most of all she loved her family. She also loved her beach house at Cape Story by the Sea in Virginia Beach and all the family gatherings there.

Carolyn was preceded in death by her parents, husband, and siblings, William Maywood Carey, Robert Lee Carey, and Helen Carey Williams. She is survived by son, Walton G. Bondurant, Jr. (Nancy) and daughter, Peggy B. Rutledge (Les) all of Smithfield, Virginia; grandchildren, Alison Rutledge of Atlanta, Georgia, Carey B. Hayslett (Rus) of Smithfield, Virginia, Ami B. Balderson (Bob) of Mechanicsville, Virginia, Austin Rutledge (Nicole) of Wake Forest, North Carolina and Walton Bondurant III (Anna) of Smithfield, Virginia; and great-grandchildren, Tyler and Lily Hayslett, Chay and Ella Balderson, Lexi and Walton Bondurant, and Wyatt and Paxton Rutledge. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews in the Bondurant and Carey family, most of whom she continued to see every year at the family Christmas party until her health prevented her attendance in 2016.

We know that she could not have lived such a long life without the caring attention of the best doctors ever: Dr. Nguyen, Dr. Mohammed, Dr. Ridley, Dr. Jackson, Dr. Mahoney, Dr. Szentpetery and Dr. Kruger. Her caregivers were invaluable to her, and the family owes a debt of gratitude to: Christine Wall Johnson, Ingrid Binet, Leslee Davis, Sheila Toliver, Angela Miller, and Kristal Lewis.

Also, a long life is only possible if friends and neighbors are available: next door Tim and Cindy Daube and Alex Daube (who she loved like a grandson) were always there to help, as were Lola Brown, Doug Chezum, Roger Frye, and Rebecca Carroll.

A celebration of Carolyn’s life will be held 1:00 PM, Wednesday, January 25, 2017 at Parklawn-Wood Funeral Home in Hampton with family members Rev. Marybeth Carey, All Saints Anglican Church, Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania. and Dr. David Rutledge, Professor of Religion, Emeritus, Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina officiating. The family will receive friends immediately following in the funeral home. Interment in Parklawn Memorial Park will be held privately.

Friends are encouraged to visit www.parklawn-woodfh.com to share memories and words of condolence with the family.

Arrangements are under the care of Parklawn-Wood Funeral Home, 2551 N. Armistead Avenue, Hampton, Virginia 23666.