Donald Keith Carew

1934 - 2025

Donald Keith Carew

Leverett, MA - Donald Keith Carew

Donald Keith Carew, 90, died January 28, 2025, at his home in Leverett with his life partner, Donna Mellen, by his side.

During his last weeks, Don was surrounded by loving family and friends.

Don was a big man with a big heart and a large family, whom he dearly loved. His life was guided by an enduring commitment to democratic collaboration, social and economic justice, love of the natural environment, learning, and kindness.

Born March 26, 1934, in Toronto, Canada, he was the son of the late Marjorie Pooler Carew and Donald Ferrario Carew.

He lived in Ontario until age 10, when he moved with his family to New England where his father had grown up. His family, which eventually included four sisters, moved many times during his childhood, and Don became accustomed to being the "new kid on the block."

Don's commitment to social justice and collaboration was sparked by experiences in his youth.

His family moved to Lowell when he was in the seventh grade. Don recalled that, as a Canadian, he spoke and dressed differently than the boys in the mill town. He was taunted as a "foreign sissy" and was challenged to fights by his new classmates. However, he had just had his appendix out and had promised his mother that he wouldn't get into any fights. So he made appointments for fights to take place following his recovery. After surviving a few of these encounters, he was finally accepted. He spoke about this experience as an early introduction to the danger of prejudice.

As an older teen, Don worked in two manufacturing plants. He was struck by the disparity between the democratic values of participation and collaboration and the way in which people in the factories were managed. This realization planted the seeds for his career-long interest in including people in decision-making, both for their benefit and the benefit of the organization. He believed that "people have a right to be involved in the decisions that affect their lives."

Don graduated in 1947 from high school in Milton, Ohio, and in 1955 from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where he majored in Economics and Commerce. He often recalled that, as a 17-year-old entering student, he was inspired by the words on the Ohio University Alumni Gateway: "So enter that daily thou mayest grow in knowledge, wisdom, and love." In 1956 he received a master's degree in Human Relations, also from Ohio University.

While at Ohio University, Don joined ROTC (Reserve Officers' Training Corps). As a reserve officer, he became a member of the Army Special Forces and participated in paratrooper training. He told of the challenges of being a young officer commanding older and more-experienced troops. He began to develop the leadership skills for which he was later known. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Captain.

Don and his former wife, Jody, and young daughter, Cathy, moved to Gainesville, Florida, where he began a doctorate in Counseling Psychology. While in Florida, they added three more daughters, Kim, Sandy, and Cindy, to their family.

Don received his Ed.D. in Counseling Psychology in 1962. He began his long academic career at Trenton (New Jersey) State College followed by four years at Ohio University in the department of Guidance Counseling and Student Personnel.

During these years, Don became interested in systemic social change. Through an intensive postdoctoral training program at the NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science, he became aware of the power of groups to facilitate both individual and organizational development. Don and his former wife, Eunice, were active for many years at NTL in both training and leadership roles.

During the 1950s, 60s, 70s, and beyond Don was active in the civil rights and other social change movements. He participated in multiple civil rights actions and brought a group of his students to the 1963 March on Washington where they heard Martin Luther King deliver his historic speech, "I Have a Dream."

From 1969 to 1994, Don was Professor of Education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where, in addition to teaching and research, he served in multiple departmental leadership roles and supervised doctoral dissertations. Based on the NTL group training model, he developed a powerful sequence of experiential courses, co-delivered with other faculty, through which graduate students gained expertise in group dynamics and leadership and training design. Hundreds of students in various roles in schools, businesses, and other organizations were influenced by their participation in these courses. Many still remark on the beneficial effects on their lives and careers.

During his time at UMass, a fifth child, son Scott, was born to Don and his former wife, Rene.

Don's commitment to teamwork was evident in his home life. The family lived in a 1700s-era farmhouse in Conway with horses and dogs and gardens, and everyone pitched in. In 1979, Don and Eunice and good friends, Doug and Arlene Forsyth, built a common home for both families with horses and dogs and gardens on 32 acres in Leverett where he lived the rest of his life. As Arlene recently recalled, "We had really good times and we had some really tough times. And we had great parties…I mean, the kids would come home to go to our parties!"

In 1979, Don and seven friends and colleagues co-founded The Ken Blanchard Companies, which is now a prominent leadership and management training company in the United States and internationally. Their motivation was to "work with people we love and care about and make a difference in organizations." Don played a critical role in shaping the values of the company. Don and Eunice co-authored Blanchard's Building High Performing Teams program. With Ken Blanchard, he and Eunice wrote "The One Minute Manager Builds High Performing Teams," and he co-authored two other Blanchard books. Don served as a consulting partner into the 2000s, working with numerous organizations in the for-profit, not-for-profit, and public sectors.

In 1965, Don and his family began building their camp, Shagbark, on the banks of Lake Chatuge in Hiawassee, Georgia. Decades later, members of the extended family from across the country and Canada continue to gather each summer. Don was passionately committed to Shagbark and to the family connections it fosters. "It's a force that keeps us together," Don's sister, Susan Carew Rice, said.

Don and his family loved music and often sang around the campfire at Shagbark. That tradition was honored recently as family members joined Don for a last group sing while he was in hospice care in his home in Leverett.

For the past 35 years, Don shared his life with Donna Mellen of Leverett. They held common social values and professional interests, cared for their aging parents and members of the Carew and Mellen families, had many traveling adventures, enjoyed singing in the Leverett chorus, and cared for, learned from, and loved one another.

In addition to Donna, Don is survived by his children, Catherine Carew Bednarski and her husband, Bruce Bednarski, of Greenfield; Kimberly Carew of Greene, Maine; Sandra Carew Fortier and her husband, Tim Fortier, of Snowmass Village, Colorado; Cynthia Carew Darwent of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina; and Scott Carew and his wife, Carrie Euring, of Fairfield, Connecticut; his sister, Susan Carew Rice and her husband, Stephen Rice, of Shutesbury; his former spouses, Eunice Parisi-Carew of Tehachapi, California; Irene Burke Carew of Amherst; and Joan Sabatino of Charleston, South Carolina; 12 grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; many nieces, nephews, and friends; and members of the extended Mellen family. His sisters, Virginia Carew, Mardon Carew, and Carolyn Carew, and a son-in-law, Barry Joseph Darwent, died earlier.

Don's family deeply appreciates the care he received during the last months of his life from Dr. Robert Vigderman, Laurie Runkle, RN, and staff at the Valley Medical Group in Amherst; Bert Schwarz, RN, and staff at Hospice of the Fisher Home in Amherst; and caretaker, Jenna Dupre, of Springfield.

A memorial gathering will be held Saturday, March 22, at 1 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Society, 121 North Pleasant St., in Amherst.

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to the Sierra Club (Sierraclub.org), The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU.org), or Hospice of the Fisher Home of Amherst (Fisherhome.org).