Carol Joy Park

Carol J. Park, 86, after a life dedicated to music, service to others, and advocacy for human and civil rights, passed away peacefully after a long illness on June 30, 2024, in Clinton Township, Michigan. Born to Baptist missionaries, Dorothy and Fred, in Assam, India, Carol’s early life and that of her family would be challenging. After a short stay back in the States from India, continued missionary service took the family once again overseas to the Philippines where they were interned in a civilian POW camp during World War II’s Japanese occupation of the islands for three years. This early experience greatly impacted and shaped Carol throughout her life. Upon liberation from the camp near the end of the war, the family later settled in Colorado, USA. Carol was a gifted musician who began playing piano before the age of five. Her love of music brought her to The University of Colorado, where she studied the organ and earned a Bachelor of Music. With her family’s missionary roots, her mother a medical doctor and her father a Baptist minister and educator, Carol’s path would take her to Boston University School of Theology, where she received her Master of Divinity. Her love of music remained her ministry and she served as organist and choir director in churches of many denominations throughout her life and well into her retirement where she had worked in community relations for several organizations advocating for those with developmental disabilities and mental illness. Carol’s legacy is woven through the fabric of Detroit, a city she loved dearly. While not an ordained minister, Carol was one of the first two female chaplains ever to serve the Detroit Corps of Chaplains with the Detroit Police Department starting in the 1970s. Carol’s service to the police corps and the city of Detroit was an immense sense of pride for her. Her chaplaincy and work as a certified counselor also included life-long advocacy for civil, women, and reproductive rights. Carol was fiercely independent, intelligent, and witty. Carol greatly loved her grandchildren and was very proud of their accomplishments and more importantly the people they have become. She loved to walk and would often walk miles to the bank just to deposit a check. She was an avid reader and always had a book or several going at once. She loved word games and enjoyed destroying her children, even at a young age, in Scrabble. She was quick-witted and she loved a well-placed pun and relished when it received a groan in response. That wit never left her even into the late stages of her illness. Predeceased by her parents, Carol's spirit is carried forward by her children, Steve (Rhonda), Amy (Chris); her grandchildren, Julian, Aidan, Marion (John), Rob, and Brendan; and her brother Bob (Mame), and their children Rick (Jeri) and Bobbi. Family visitation will be held on Thursday, July 11, 2024, from 2:30 PM to 8:00 PM at Wujek-Calcaterra & Sons, 36900 Schoenherr, Sterling Heights, MI. The service to honor and celebrate Carol's life will be held on Friday, July 12, 2024, with a 9am memorial gathering at St. Blase Catholic Church, 12151 15 Mile Rd., Sterling Heights, MI followed by the memorial service at 9:30am, with a luncheon to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations in Carol’s honor may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association (act.alz.org) or Center for Reproductive Rights (reproductiverights.org). Carol's life was a testament to her life of service to others, the lives she influenced, and the love of music she shared with so many. Her presence will be deeply missed, but her legacy will bloom eternally in the hearts of those she has left behind.

Carol Joy Park

November 23, 1937 - June 30, 2024