Carolyn House Simmons passed away peacefully in her home in Wilmington on May 9, 2018 at the age of 77.
Carolyn was born in Manchester, CT in 1940, and was known as “Happy” to her family. She attended Wellesley College where she received a B.A. in English. She earned a Masters and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Kentucky. She was a Professor of Psychology at Howard University and at the University of Colorado at Denver, where she won numerous teaching awards and served as associate dean. While in Denver, she served on the boards of the Piton Foundation and Graland Country Day School. In 1990, she moved to Wilmington, where she was the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Her scholarly work included studies of child psychology, cross-cultural psychology, theories of justice, and altruism. She was very active in the Wilmington area, serving on a number of charitable boards in the community after her retirement from the university. She enjoyed needlepoint, gardening, reading, scrapbooking and international travel. Above all, she was devoted to her family.
Carolyn married Roger Simmons in 1962 and the couple had two sons, Clif and Ric. She is survived by her two sons and their wives Karen Simmons and Angie Lloyd, as well as her five grandchildren: Parker, Cyrus, Aquila, Zeke, and Skylar; and her brother and sister-in-law, Arthur and Rita House, and sister and brother-in-law Betsey House and Jerry Eubank.
All friends and family are invited to stop by Carolyn’s home on Sunday, May 27th between 1-4 for an informal remembrance.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations made to Wellesley College or the University of North Carolina Wilmington Psychology Department, in loving memory of Carolyn, would be greatly appreciated.
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Wilmington Funeral & Cremation, 1535 S.41st Street Wilmington, NC 28403. 910.791.9099.
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