CAROLEE KAMIN

KAMIN--Carolee Phyllis. Was a visionary and a co-founder, administrator and English teacher of Community School, an alternative high school in Great Neck, NY. Carolee shepherded generations through the challenges of adolescence, and beyond, maintaining profound friendships with many of her students long after she retired. Carolee was a brilliant teacher whose lessons extended far beyond the classroom. She inspired students to lead authentic, engaged lives and to exist in the present. She taught by example the importance of friendship, community, love, and life, and instilled the desire to learn in her students. Her legacy will live on in them. Carolee was born and grew up in Brooklyn. graduated from high school at 16 and Barnard at 20. She got her Ed.M. at Harvard before joining the faculty at Great Neck North High School. Carolee died peacefully on March 1, 2021. Retired, she maintained relationships with many of her former students, and had a large number of friendships from every stage of her life. Carolee loved NYC and took advantage of all the city has to offer. She knew every building, street, store, and especially, every restaurant. It was not unusual for her to be out every night - at dinner, theater, or a movie (pre- pandemic). Carolee was an avid and critical theater goer. She enjoyed opera, museums, and was a fan of art deco. Carolee was very politically aware and involved. The environment was a cause close to her heart. She loved animals, sunsets, the moon, and always had to have beautiful flowers in her home. Carolee was charming and had the unique ability to elicit the life story of a stranger in a matter of minutes. She described herself as a good interviewer. Maybe that's what made her such a great listener and generous friend. Long before it was popular or easy, Carolee maintained an incredibly healthy diet. Everything inside and out of her body was organic. She loved eating different types of cuisine and enjoyed sharing her favorite restaurants with friends. Carolee was a traveler, a night owl, a life-long learner. She was a sports fan, and enjoyed football, and tennis, in particular. She was brilliant, stunning, interesting, kind, stylish, funny, loving, health conscious, cultured, strong, fiercely independent, and a little quirky. She was intensely stubborn, fiercely loyal, deceptively strong, and capable of immense joy. Carolee is survived by her chosen family, including her 'daughter,' Michele Lipson, devoted cousins, and a slew of friends. She will be missed beyond words. Donations in her memory can be made to Earthjustice. There will be a Zoom Memorial on March 14 at 4pm ET: http://bit.ly/cpk314