Caroline Garvin Markham

Caroline Olivia Markham (neé Garvin), age 30, went home to her king Jesus after a courageous battle with cancer. She passed peacefully and in comfort, surrounded by family members and loved ones. The family thanks the ICU team at MD Anderson Cancer Center for providing such compassionate care to Caroline in her final days.

Caroline was born in Barrington, Illinois, and grew up in Roswell, Georgia. After graduating from the University of Georgia, she moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to participate in the Fellows Program, a year-long faith-and-work fellowship. She married the love of her life Tom Markham on June 6, 2020. After completing her graduate study in Advanced Practice Psychiatry & Mental Health at Vanderbilt University, she worked as a Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner at Centerstone, where she selflessly cared for the mental health needs of hundreds of patients from across Nashville, all of whom she loved dearly. She had a passion for the church and helped plant the Midtown Fellowship West Nashville congregation, where she was an active member.

Caroline will be remembered as a woman of great passion and empathy. She had a heart for mission work from a very young age, and her deep desire to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and to care for the underserved and marginalized was a guiding light throughout her life. Caroline poured out much of herself as an active, intentional friend and sister, always making time to serve as a voice of encouragement, conviction, and compassion. Her joy in life was marked by her infectious laughter and her love of new experiences, be that trying a new restaurant, traveling to a new place, seeing a new film or concert, reading a new book, or seeing the world anew through the lens of her camera.

Caroline is survived by her beloved husband, Tom; her father and stepmother, Bob & Cheri Garvin; her mother and stepfather, Kathy & Keith Vierela; her grandmother, Linda Pike; her grandparents Bob & Lucy Garvin; her step-grandfather Donald Newcomb; her siblings Meredith, Gabby, Justus, Mackenzie, Jessica, Kristin, and Frankie; her parents-in-law, Doug & Missy Markham; her siblings-in-law, Campbell, Austin, Melissa, and Witt; her beloved miniature dachshund, Midge; and many other precious family members and dear friends.

 A celebration of Caroline’s life will be held on Monday, February 16 at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, beginning with a reception and visitation in the Fellowship Hall at 11:00am and followed by the memorial service in the Sanctuary at 1:00pm. A private burial service at Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens & Cemetery will follow.

For those who are able, the family would be blessed by donations made in Caroline’s memory at any of the following places: Napier Kitchen Table, City to City Europe, and Siloam Health.