Caroline Amber Cauley

Caroline Amber Cauley

AGE: 23 • Kendall Park

Caroline Amber Cauley died on Sunday, July 6, 2014 peacefully at her home in Kendall Park after courageously battling Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) for nearly a decade. Caroline was a brave, smart, generous, loving and ambitious young woman, and despite her health challenges she lived her life to the fullest. She was an inspiration to all who knew her. She especially loved her family, friends and pets. She was a graduate of St. Augustine School in Kendall Park, NJ, Mount Saint Mary Academy in Watchung, NJ, and The George Washington University in Washington, DC. Even as a very young child, it was clear that Caroline was determined and dedicated. She was an outstanding student and class leader. She participated in competitive cheerleading in grammar school and high school, winning many tournaments. She graduated from high school with high honors, and received multiple college scholarship offers.

She decided to attend The George Washington University because she loved the DC area and the fast, exciting pace of life there. Caroline liked to be in the middle of the action. At GWU she attended the Business School and majored in Business Administration, Economics & Public Policy and International Business. She was a member of the GWU Chi Omega sorority. During college she worked at Circa restaurant on the GWU campus, and also interned at the Committee on House Administration and for a congressman in the US House of Representatives. After graduation, she took a full-time position as a Public Policy Specialist at Patton Boggs. She loved politics and government, and always wanted to make the world a better place through her efforts in public policy. Caroline enjoyed traveling and visited many foreign countries starting at a very young age. She spent the spring semester of her junior year in Rome. She also loved fashion and interior design, and enjoyed making everything around her beautiful. And while she relished debating complex financial and political subjects, and reading non-fiction books on global issues, Caroline had a very fun side as well, with a great sense of humor and an innate ability to make others around her happy.

She is survived by her mother, Patricia (Trish) Cauley, of Kendall Park, her father, Kevin Cauley of Philadelphia, her brothers Sean (age 21) and Ryan (age 17) Cauley, of Kendall Park, NJ, her maternal grandparents, Gil and Gertrude Vigneault of East Brunswick, NJ, her aunt Susan Vigneault of Manasquan, NJ, her aunt and uncle Cynthia Cauley and Steve Elliott of Hants, UK, her aunt Gloria Vigneault of Vero Beach, FL, her uncle Thomas Vigneault of East Brunswick, NJ, and her aunt Kathy Davidson of Ebensburg, PA. She is also survived by six first cousins - Samuel, Mateo, Sebastian and Benjamin Vigneault of Vero Beach, FL and Tom and Zachary Vigneault of Ebensburg, PA. She also leaves behind many friends in New Jersey, Washington, and across the globe. Her uncle, Mark Vigneault of Vero Beach, FL, died in 2009. She is also pre-deceased by her paternal grandparents, John and Aniela Cauley, of Philadelphia.

Caroline found kinship and support in her EDS struggle primarily through the message boards hosted by the Ehlers-Danlos National Foundation. EDS, which is a disease that affects the body's connective tissue, is not well known and is often misdiagnosed. There is no cure and it causes multiple health problems in all parts of the body. Caroline worked hard to promote awareness of EDS, in the hopes that eventually a cure can be found. To keep Caroline's memory alive and work towards the goal of finding a cure for EDS, her parents have established the Caroline Cauley Memorial Fund. Donations to the fund can be sent to her address (15 Lehigh Drive, Kendall Park, NJ 08824).

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 10:15 am on Saturday, July 12, 2014 at St. Augustine of Canterbury Church, 45 Henderson Road, Kendall Park, NJ 08824. Burial will follow Holy Cross Burial Park. Friends may call on Friday, July 11, 2014 from 4-8 pm at the M.J. Murphy Funeral Home, 616 Ridge Road At New Road, Monmouth Junction.