The family of Carol Symmes is saddened to share the news of her passing from cancer and stroke complications on October 20th, 2022, the day after her 74th birthday. Carol was an incredible woman who took a unique and special path in life and positively affected so many people she met along the way. Our family does our best to tell her story so those who knew Carol can remember her and those who weren’t lucky enough to can get a sense of the person that she was.

Carol was born on October 19th, 1948 in Indianapolis, Indiana, to Janet and Alfred Symmes. She attended the Orchard School before moving to Philadelphia at age 13 to continue her education. The move was meant to be for only a few years but ended up being where she would spend the majority of her life. It’s where she would meet her best friend, Bessie, her partner Irv, and countless other friends and characters along the way. It's where she would give birth to two sons, Zach and Adam. It's where she would call home.

Carol graduated from Eastern University in 2004 with a degree in Organizational Management. She was proudly the oldest member of her class and, upon graduation, received the Perseverance Award for “overcoming challenges with courage and tenacity to finish her degree.” The award is apropos of Carol's attitude and how she managed challenges not only in education but in life.

Carol devoted her life and career to counseling, social work, and helping others heal. Early in her career, she worked as a medical researcher at The University of Pennsylvania and spent years as a counselor helping young women and families at Planned Parenthood in Philadelphia. Later, Carol would move on to a career in drug and alcohol counseling, much of which in the Pennsylvania correctional system. An unassuming woman among inmates, standing just over 5 feet tall with blonde curls and blue eyes, but ask anyone she worked with, and they would tell you Carol was always the toughest one in any room.

Later in life, Caol took an interest in healing through the mind-body connection. She studied Yoga and became a certified teacher and instructor in her community. She studied the arts of Reiki and Shiatsu, eventually becoming a Reiki Master and Shiatsu practitioner.

Carol’s professional life was devoted to the incredibly heavy work of helping others heal from pain and trauma. Something she beautifully kept separate from her family, friends, and personal life.

If there's one thing it's clear that Carol cared about, it was people, and no one was more important to her than her family and friends. We remember her warmth, love, and compassion. Her smile, laugh, and sense of humor (oh, those jokes!). She always had one on hand, and ones you wouldn't expect from a 70-something-year-old lady. We'd be hard-pressed to think about Carol without remembering her incredible loyalty to loved ones. Sure it could sometimes come off brash or direct, but Carol saw it as her job to stand up for and protect her family and friends out of love. We thank you for your support and for always having our back. Even when we were wrong.

Finally, in the story of her life, it is important to remember some of the places she loved. The New Hampshire coastline, where she would visit her best friend Bessie and sunbathe on the Atlantic. Her home in Elverson Pennsylvania, a converted chicken barn Carol referred to the beautiful country cabin as her little chicken coop. No list of her favorite places would be complete without mention of Lake Wawasee. Nestled in Northern Indiana, Carol would spend her childhood summers at a family house on the lake. It was her slice of heaven.

There isn't one word to summarize Carol. That wouldn't be fair. But as she passes from this world to the next, we remember her beautiful life. Her strength, her courage, her perseverance, and her love. Her laugh, that laugh. Loud and distinct, you could hear it from across the room, and it would warm your heart. Carol, Mom, Sister, Aunt, Cousin, healer, friend, lover, and all the other titles you were to others, we miss you. We miss you so much. What we wouldn't do to have one more moment with you. One more dinner, one more phone call, one more of your chocolate chip cookies, one more text, one more laugh, one more hug. You loved life, and it's unfair it took you too soon. Way too soon. You left this world and the people you met in it better than when you found it. We hope you are now in a place of beauty, love, and peace. Until we meet again.

Carol is survived by her son Adam Bruskin, sisters Louise Kubat and Susy Wichser, Nieces Blake Thomas and Brittany Kubat, and Nephew Ben Wichser.

We welcome friends and family to join us in remembering Carol as well as celebrating her life. Please join us at her home at 1960 Little Conestoga Rd Elverson PA 19520, on March 4th, 2023, at 1 PM, where family and friends can come together to share moments and memories and remember the love that she brought to the world.

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