Carol Getzinger

Carol C. Getzinger
March 31, 1941 - July 6, 2015

Carol Cartan Getzinger, née Carol Elaine Cartan, was born on March 31, 1941 in El Monte, California, to parents Frederick Roger Cartan (1898-1970) and Bertha Irene Cartan (1904-2008). She was the youngest of three siblings, having two older brothers Frederick Owen Cartan (1928-1998) and John Roger Cartan (1930-).

Carol spent her childhood among orange groves in El Monte. She met future husband Richard there in 1959, and in 1961 moved to Berkeley, California to join him. They were married in August 1961. A year after Carol earned her Bachelor's degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1963, Carol and Richard moved to Los Alamos, New Mexico, where son David was born in 1965 and daughter Karen (Kari) in 1967.

Carol loved the western mountains, but remained open to new places and experiences throughout her life. In addition to California and New Mexico, she also lived in Southampton, England; Washington D.C.; Ottawa, Canada; Vienna, Austria; and Tokyo, Japan; before finally settling down in Bethesda and later Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Spirituality always played a major role in Carol's life, and pressing questions concerning the nature of Christianity led her to earn a master's degree summa cum laude in theological studies from Wesley Theological Seminary in 2003. She put her studies to effective use launching a Discipleship program and teaching adult bible study classes at her longtime church North Bethesda United Methodist Church.

Carol succumbed peacefully to ovarian cancer in the early morning of July 6, 2015, in Rockville, Maryland, with her family nearby. She is survived by husband Richard, son David and his wife Claire, and daughter Kari.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 PM on Sunday July 12, 2015 at North Bethesda United Methodist Church, 10100 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda, Maryland. Carol will be inurned at Parklawn Memorial Park, 12800 Veirs Mill Road, Rockville, Maryland. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations either to Chapter S (Potomac, MD) of the P.E.O. Foundation (http://www.peointernational.org/) or to the American Cancer Society (https://donate.cancer.org/).

In loving memory,
Richard, David, Kari and Claire
Gaithersburg, Maryland
July 2015