Carole Buttner

Carole Buttner
Carole was born in San Francisco and grew up in Hillsborough, California. She went to boarding school in Monterey, came east to Pine Manor and graduated from Skidmore College in 1961. Carole had MANY passions in her life (see below), but the chief of these (pun intended) was her husband, Murray (his children affectionately called him the Chief). Carole and Murray met in Paris in 1958. It was a fairy tale beginning to a 62-year love affair. In 1964, they moved to Fairfield, Connecticut, into a much loved 1780 house, where they lived for 35 years and raised four terrific children: Lindsey, Murray, Craig and Jenny. While raising her family, Carole pursued and shared her passions for gardening, animal husbandry, needlepoint, French cooking, classical music, learning to play the cello, French language, travel planning, Religion (Western and Eastern), art history, architecture, early American History, presidential history, European History, foreign affairs, progressive politics, travel planning and travel. Carole and Murray were prolific travelers. Generally, she did all of the trip planning, which she loved, and he was an appreciative and enthusiastic participant!
In the 1980s, she worked as a volunteer at the first hospice in the United States in Branford, CT. After seeing all of the children through school, Carole went back to school herself, pursuing a long delayed goal and, in 1990, she received her Master's Degree in Social Work from Columbia University. She spent many years volunteering as a social worker on the Pediatric Oncology Unit at Memorial Sloan Kettering, in New York City.
Carole and Murray sailed up and down the East Coast for over 5 decades, first with the children, and then with a series of miniature dachshunds and cruising up and down the East Coast on their beloved and renowned wooden sloop, Seguin. They particularly loved sailing in Maine and have asked that their remains be scattered on one the islands off Stonington, ME.
Carole was an incredible mother and a legendary grandmother. She followed in her father's footsteps in his ability to play with young children. Her one-person puppet shows and breakfast cook-offs were a huge hit with all of her grandchildren.
Murray passed away just as the pandemic was starting in 2020 (as a huge extrovert, he would have hated the lockdown). The past few weeks, Carole was extremely excited by the impending prospect of reuniting with him and she passed on his birthday
Carole is survived by her children: Lindsey, Murray, Craig and Jenny, and her grandchildren: Emeline, Phoebe, Stuart, Khai, Solan, Natalie, and Sam. She was blessed with 2 amazing daughters-in-law, Jennifer and Caroline, and a best-in-class son-in-law, Stuart Carlisle
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Essex Meadows Scholarship Foundation, 30 Bokum Road, Essex, CT 06426, to provide annual scholarship assistance to the wonderful employees at Essex Meadows and their children.
To share a memory of Carole or send a condolence to her family, please visit www.rwwfh.com . The Robinson, Wright & Weymer Funeral Home in Centerbrook, Connecticut, is in care of the arrangements.