Carolyn Elayne Early Coles

Carolyn Elayne Early Coles went home to be with the Lord on May 8, 2023. She was a loving mother, grandmother, aunt, cousin, and friend who always had a big, bright smile and words of encouragement to give.

Carolyn was born in Galax, Virginia on September 19, 1944, to the late Robert E. Lee Early, Sr. and Faye Helen Beamer Early. She was the oldest of three children. Her sister, Denise Ghee, and her brother, Robert Lee Early, Jr., preceded her in death. Carolyn married the late James Robert Coles in 1966 and had two children: Tinya Lynette Coles and James Robert Coles, II. After her beautiful grandchildren James Robert Coles, III, and Simone Coles, were born, Carolyn’s perfect family was complete. They were her pride and joy whom she loved dearly and whose devotion, love, and laughter gave her great happiness.

Throughout her life, Carolyn was a selfless giver and a faithful servant who dearly loved her family and friends. She was always ready to give loving, blunt, and honest advice and counsel to those who were wise enough to receive it. She was a social butterfly, who loved to laugh and lit up when talking on the phone with her friends and loved ones or when simply engaging with the public. If you came into contact with her, you felt special. Her kind spirit transcended her challenges even through her illnesses. Medical professionals caring for her would be blessed with her advice or to hear her say, “I’m praying for you.”

She was a trailblazer and a go-getter. She was one of seven African American students to graduate from Galax City High School in 1962 after it was forced to be integrated. She then matriculated to Virginia State College where she excelled, was inducted into the Alpha Kappa Mu Honor Society, and earned the position as the valedictorian of her class. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology in 1966. Upon graduation, she entered the federal workforce and achieved the highest level of federal service. After 25 years, she retired from the General Accounting Office as a personnel management specialist and supervisor. Her community involvement, which began in college as a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., continued after her retirement when she taught middle and high school students as a substitute teacher for the Charles County Public Schools and mentored the Girls Group at Matthew Henson Middle school.

All of her life, Carolyn served the Lord. At an early age, she accepted Christ as her personal savior and was baptized in 1956 when she was 12 years old. At the time of her death, she was a faithful member of the Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church in La Plata, Maryland, where she sang in the Sanctuary Choir and worked as a member of the Women of Purpose women’s auxiliary group, and Addi E. Thomas Missionary Society. In 2009, she was chosen to serve as a deaconess at her church.

Carolyn was the matriarch of her maternal family. To cherish her memory are her children, Tinya (Witek Cieply) and James (Stefani); her grandchildren, James and Simone; her niece, Jennifer Williams; nephews, Derrick Ghee, Keenan Early and Robert Lee Early, III (Tre’); five great nieces and nephews; dozens of first cousins; two brothers-in-law, John Coles, Albert Ghee; five sisters-in-law, Kathy Early, Novella James, Barbara Brickhouse, June Staton (Raymond), Alice Coles; well over a hundred more distant cousins; She will also be missed by her best friend and riding partner Theresa Thomas.

To those left to cherish her memory, Carolyn would say, “This is a journey we all must take, and each must go alone. Miss me a little, but not for long. Reach out to friends we know. Laugh at all the things we used to do. You can miss me, but let me go.”