Carole M Burton

Carole M. Burton, a long-time resident of Croton-on-Hudson, NY, passed away on February 11, 2025. She was born on July 30, 1939, in Irvington, NJ, to the late Joseph and Beatrice (Rutka) Kazala. Carole is survived by her husband, Raul De Jesus; her daughters, Adrienne Burton (France), Valerie Burton (Virginia), and Lorraine Burton (Ossining, m. Hasan Dajani); her granddaughter Alexandra Lorite (France, m. Abdallah Berkani); and great-grandchildren Younes, Ali, and Ibrahim.

Carole was an avid creator and artist with fabric, and the intricate, colorful quilts she made are symbolic of the beautiful life she pieced together through her resilience and array of passions. A scholarship after high school to the Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School launched her into New York, where she was surrounded by the art, music, theater, and movies she loved. She eventually obtained a Bachelor’s degree from Briarcliff College while raising her three girls. After a career with General Foods in White Plains, NY, and as an independent employment counselor, she retired and began a new chapter that took her down varied paths and created opportunities to touch many lives.

Among her community endeavors, Carole established the Jobseekers Network at the Croton Free Library, was a founder of Friends of Croton Point, and became a dedicated volunteer for ministries at Sing Sing Prison and Taconic Correctional Facility. Her interactions with inmates were the most spiritually enriching experiences of her life.

She was a member of the Northern Star Quilters Guild and an integral part of the Patchwork and Prayer ministry at Mariandale, contributing her abundant gifts to fundraising and other projects with these tight-knit communities of creative women. She recently loved volunteering at Retake/Remake in Peekskill. In 2019, Carole was inducted into Westchester County’s Senior Hall of Fame for her enduring and significant contributions.

Carole also loved walking, cooking, gardening, reading, yoga, and word puzzles, particularly enjoying the New York Times Spelling Bee or a good game of Scrabble. She further expanded her horizons through traveling, visiting Poland with the Kosciuszko Foundation, Guatemala while her daughter Valerie was a Peace Corps volunteer there, and France yearly to see her daughter Adrienne and beloved granddaughter Alex. Her interactions and experiences were engraved in her heart, and her quiet spirit made an impression on others everywhere she went.

For Carole, there were always more quilts to make, books to read, and recipes to try. As many people have already expressed, she will be remembered for the beauty of her creations and the generosity and abundant gifts she shared. A message from one of the people she visited in prison captures her impact, saying, “Thank you for your unconditional love, support, and friendship. I’m a better person because of you, and you live in my heart.” Carole’s example of living your dreams with steadfast courage, throughout life’s ups and downs, will not be forgotten.

A memorial celebration will be planned by Carole’s family during the summer of 2025.

To honor Carole’s legacy, donations to the following organizations would be appreciated: Rehabilitation Through the Arts, https://rta-arts.org/support-rehabilitation-through-the-arts-2024/; Hour Children, https://hourchildren-bloom.kindful.com/; or Open Arms for Refugees,

https://openarmsforrefugees.org/donate/