Carol Wink

NEWTON -- Carol Wink, 51, died on Wednesday, June 17, 2009, at Morristown Memorial Hospital, after complications related to a long fought illness.

Beloved wife, mother, sister and aunt, she was born in the Harding Park neighborhood of The Bronx, N.Y. on Sept. 1, 1957, to the late William and Geraldine Howell Dolan. After growing up in Plainview, Long Island, Carol moved with her family in 1986 to Sussex County, a rural paradise she came to love. She worked for 18 years as a devoted educator, teaching first and second grade and then reading comprehension at the Sparta Alpine School, where she was named Teacher of the Year in 2001.

Carol is survived by her loving husband, George, with whom she was two months shy of a 30th wedding anniversary; her daughter, Maureen; her son, Christopher; two loving sisters, Eileen and Nancy, and their husbands, Mike Lorio and Joe Cipollone and their children, Daniel and Cassie and Joseph and Matthew; two cherished sisters-in-law, Jeanie and Linda Wink; a strange looking dog and two cats, including her favorite, Milo.

Aside from education, Carol's greatest passions came in the kitchen, using a library of cookbooks and a knack for experimentation and exploration to craft meals of exceptional regard that will be greatly missed by all, especially her eternally hungry son. The green thumb gardener was known for coaxing her husband into playing with dirt, mulch and plants on big, beautiful Sussex County weekends, as well as incorporating the fruits and vegetables she grew into her favorite meals. She will be remembered best for her passion, humor and eggplant rollatini.

Last August, Carol was thrilled to make her first trip across the pond, spending a week in London. She recently turned over her constant reading habits to planning a trip to California, showing her love for travel.

Carol was a 1979 Bachelor of Arts graduate from Hofstra University with a Master in the Art of Teaching from Marygrove College and other post-graduate work from Centenary College of New Jersey. Carol was excited to return to the classroom this fall to use a recently completed Orton Gillingham Teacher Certificate from Fairleigh Dickinson University to tutor students suffering with dyslexia and other reading difficulties.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday at the Smith-McCracken Funeral Home, 63 High Street, Newton. Interment will be held at Newton Cemetery. Visitation will be held on Monday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at the funeral home.

The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, North Jersey Chapter, 14 Commerce Drive, Suite 301, Cranford, NJ 07016.