Carrie Lynn Pickens

1965 - 2014

Carrie Lynn Pickens of Simsbury, CT passed away unexpectedly Saturday, October 11, 2014. Carrie is the beloved daughter of Chuck and Jean Pickens of Farmington. She leaves behind her adored brother, Eric Lee Pickens and his wife Lauren Smith Pickens and their children Ivy Mae, Bridget Michelle and Mead Landry of Scarsdale, NY. She was pre-deceased four days earlier by her best friend of twelve years, little French bulldog, Willie. Carrie was born in Hartford, CT on January 11, 1965. She was a 1981 graduate of Farmington High School and received a BA in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences from the University of Connecticut. She was athletic, loved to read and enjoyed music, in particular the era of U2, Queen and the Smiths. Carrie excelled at every challenge, had a quick wit and could recall stories in great detail dating back to jobs she held as a teenager, including work in the area tobacco fields, Carvelle Ice Cream in Unionville and a Starter at Tunxis Plantation Country Club. The job Carrie enjoyed most and where she made many life-long friendships was with the Hartford Whalers from 1989 to 1993. After the Whalers left Hartford, Carrie stayed on and worked for Ogden Entertainment Services at the Civic Center. In 1995, she moved to Chicago and went to work for the Not-for-Profit Playboy Foundation. One of her responsibilities was reviewing the media for any reference to Playboy and passing the information on to CEO, Christie Hefner. Subsequently, Carrie accepted a sales position with the Chicago House of Blues. By 1999, she returned to the east coast and was hired by her brother to work as a site manager at TechSpace in NYC, an internet incubator catering to dot.com start-ups. It was during this period that Carrie went to a pet store and fell in love with little Willie. She used to carry Willie to work with her in a Coach bag. 2003 found her back in Connecticut working as an office manager for Macy's in Waterford. When her father offered her a position at the Golf Shop at Mohegan Sun, she was there until the shop closed in 2010. Most recently, Carrie has been working as a Parts Administrator at The Robert E. Morris Company in Windsor, CT. Carrie will be sadly missed by many relatives and friends whose lives she touched. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 25 at 11 am at the Memorial United Methodist Church, 867 West Avon Road, Avon, CT. Memorial gifts may be given to the Farmington Valley VNA, 8 Old Mill Lane, Simsbury, CT 06070 or the Humane Society of Connecticut, 701 Russell Road, Newington, CT 06111. Funeral arrangements will be by Ahern Funeral Home in Unionville, www.ahernfuneralhome.com.