Martha Carolyn Hembree of Springfield, Missouri passed away on September 14th. To sum up Carolyn’s life in only a few paragraphs would be an impossible task. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her.

Carolyn was born to Lorane and Clifton McCormick in Lawton, Oklahoma April 10, 1931. She was a brilliant student and graduated high school early. Carolyn went on to attend Missouri Teaching College (SMSU), then finished her teaching degree at Missouri University in Columbia. While at Mizzou she met Jack Hembree, which began a love affair that lasted over 72 years. After graduation Jack enlisted in the Army and went to serve in Korea. Meanwhile Carolyn made the first of many, many moves, to Honolulu, HI with their infant son Tom, where their second son Jack was born.

During Jack Sr.’s long career in the military, his family moved with him and Carolyn taught school wherever they were stationed. She was a teacher in White Sands, NM, Quito, Ecuador, Fort Knox, KY, and Worms Germany just to name a few. After Jack retired, they continued to travel the world and Carolyn taught in Tehran, Iran and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, meeting many, many friends and loved ones.

Carolyn was always passionate about education. She taught English at Glendale and Hillcrest high schools and Missouri State University, and was a favorite of countless students over her career. Carolyn and her brother started the Clifton & Lorane McCormick Scholarship, providing support to an African American student graduating from Central High School and attending a public university in Missouri. She was a voracious reader, finishing every New York Times, Atlantic, and New Yorker that was delivered. And she was a champion at crossword puzzles.

Carolyn shared her parents’ passion for supporting civil rights. She helped start the first Head Start program in Mobile, AL in the ‘60s. While teaching at Hillcrest High School in 1996, Carolyn and her students arranged to have a marker placed on the unmarked graves of two Black men lynched and buried at the Hazelwood Cemetery, and she led the effort to get a commemorative plaque placed on Park Central Square. Carolyn was a member of the Springfield NAACP and active in the local Democratic party up until the time of her death.

Carolyn is predeceased by her parents, her sister Janet Rufien of Littleton CO, and her daughter-in-law Dr. Kathryn Hembree of Kansas City, MO. She is survived by her loving husband Jack, her sons Tom and Jack II, her brother Clifford McCormick of Independence, grandchildren Tom Hembree of Kansas City, Sarah Watson of St. Louis, Kathryn Night of New York, Joe Hembree of Kansas City, and six great-grandchildren.

A celebration of life will be held at Brentwood Christian Church, 1900 E Barataria St., Springfield, MO 65804, at 11 a.m. on October 22. We request all of Carolyn’s loved ones to join us in celebrating her beautiful life.  

• People will be able to access a livestream of the memorial service by visiting this website: https://brentwoodchristianchu…

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