Biography
At heart, Caroline was a New Yorker, even though she was in Colorado for forty very good years.
She was born in New York City. For a short time, she lived in a Greenwich Village gatehouse, an apartment in Jackson Heights, and in the rented upstairs of somebody’s place in Rockville Center, Long Island.
Most of her early years were spent near a saltwater river that empties into the Great South Bay, where she swam, clammed, and boated whenever she could.
Oh, how her dad wanted another sailor in the family. Instead, luckily he got Caroline, who liked nothing better than trailing her hand in the water and daydreaming.
Caroline was always a daydreamer, often drifting back to her first-ever-house, her first dog Cinderella, and her first best friend Ann on Seneca Street in Massapequa. Whether we want to or not, few of us can leave our childhoods far behind. We carry our growing up years the way a turtle carries its shell. This, she believed, is especially true for those of us who write for children. Good or bad, we are consumed with reconstructing our pasts in hopes of figuring them out and sharing them with others. It makes sense to write about what we know. If we chose to write about what matters most to us, the memories that make us giggle, gasp, shiver, laugh, and cry, we are likely to do our best work. And a little daydreaming along the way doesn’t hurt.
Caroline wrote in verse because she had Rhyming Disease. It is not catching, but it is very difficult to cure. She rhymed when she was awake and pretty much every night when asleep. You can tell that you have rhyming disease when you sit up in bed with really bad rhymes running through your head, verse you’ve been dreaming.
Obituary
Caroline Randolph MacLachlan Stutson, 74, of Littleton, Colorado passed away June 18, 2015.
A funeral service was held at the United Methodist Church, 5894 S. Datura St., Littleton, Co. on July 23rd at 10am.
Caroline was born September 14, 1940, in New York City, to Malcolm and Randolph MacLachlan. She grew up in Massapequa, Long Island, and attended William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia and graduated Denver University.
Caroline was married to Alverd Stutson, and they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in September of 2014.
Caroline was a children’s book author who had 10 published books. She enjoyed giving puppet shows, reading, walking on the Highline Canal with her dog, and attending live theater. She was an active member of the Littleton Spellbinders, a board member of the Friends of the Library and Museum, as well as a special reading volunteer for Littleton elementary schools. Caroline will be sadly missed.
Caroline was survived by her husband, Alverd Stutson; son, A.C. Stutson; grandson, Alec Stutson; as well as her pets, Seymour and Maizie.
