Caroline was born on October 22, 1964 in Hagerstown, Maryland, to Edward Joseph Casey Jr and Elizabeth Rich Hicks Casey. The youngest of five children, she grew up in a military family moving from town to town. After graduating from high school, she attended college at Mary Washington University. In 1983, when Caroline was just 19 years old, her mother passed away unexpectedly. Caroline was extremely saddened by this and ended up leaving school as a result. She later enrolled at Averett College, where she met her future husband Martin. Caroline graduated from Averett in 1987 with a major in Mathematics and Education.
On January 18, 1991, after moving to Annapolis, Maryland, Caroline and Martin were wed in a small ceremony in the Annapolis court house. Their first child, Frederick III, was born in June of the following year, and 13 years later, after moving to Cary, NC, they welcomed their daughter, Grace.
Caroline prided herself in being a leader at school. She was department chair at South East Raleigh High School where she taught the other teachers that it was okay to break the mold and be different. Later she moved to Panther Creek High School where she taught honors Geometry. She was innovative, creative, and unafraid as a teacher. She made learning fun and easy to understand, and her students continue to use her methods into adulthood to help their children.
Caroline was also a facilitator for the North Carolina Teacher Academy, which was a program in The Center for School Leadership and Development at UNC-CH. Her specialty was Differentiated Instruction. She was instrumental in writing the curriculum for Differentiated Instruction, as well as the manual, Differentiated Instruction in the Math Classroom. She taught the curriculum to teachers across the state of North Carolina during her summers. Her vast subject knowledge, her innovative ways of content delivery, and her uncanny sense of humor were all keenly recognized by the participants and NCTA staff alike.
Caroline loved school and would always go above and beyond to help the teachers. One thing she tried to do every year was to solicit local businesses to provide free merchandise for the teachers at her children's schools for Teacher Appreciation Day.
Outside of school, Caroline was always full of life and loved doing things with her family. They would travel to the beach each year for summer vacation, and visit the Carolina Renaissance Festival each fall. She always looked forward to the family traveling to Blacksburg, VA for Easter and Thanksgiving with her mother and father in-law.
Caroline is survived by her husband, Frederick Martin Richardson Jr; son, Frederick Martin Richardson III; daughter, Grace Elizabeth Richardson; brothers Edward and his wife Peggy (Margaret) Casey, William and his wife Diedre Casey, Harold and his wife Christine Casey; sister Margaret and her husband Duane Baker; Father and Mother in-law Dr. Frederick Sr and Florence Richardson; Sister in-law Allison Gorrell and her husband Jack Gorrell; and all of her many nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at 2:00 PM Wednesday, December 19, 2018 at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, which is located at 200 Southeast Maynard Road, Cary, NC. All are welcome to attend.
