Carolyn Barrell (with mayor Tracey Collis) was given a Civic Award in 2018.
“Never underestimate your own potential,” was the life lesson Carolyn Barrell gave her granddaughter, Lauren.
Lauren, who helped her grandmother write her life story, spoke at the service to honour Carolyn, who died aged 81 last month.
Born Judith Gawn, Carolyn was adopted by Graham and Jean McKinney in July 1942 and the family lived in Christchurch.
At age 5, she began attending St Albans School and recalled that her father would pick her up in the car each lunchtime to go home for lunch.
She recalled the polio epidemic, with schools, swimming pools and theatres being closed to prevent the spread of the disease.
During her high school years, Carolyn was very active, becoming a first-class breaststroke swimmer and breaking a couple of Canterbury records.
She later moved on to lifesaving, where she won what was then the highest honour of the Queen’s Distinction award in the sport.
She met her future husband, Graeme, when she was 11 and recalled that they went dancing on Friday nights.
“All the church halls had dances from about 7pm to 10pm and live bands played.
“Graeme was often the entertainer during the break. Girls would flock around and put in requests and he would play them.
“I remember bragging to my friends when he first held my hand.”
While Graeme went to teachers college, Carolyn went into nursing.
She became pregnant and the families decided the couple would get married - Carolyn was 18 and Graeme was 19.
The couple lived for a time in a caravan at her parents’ bach in New Brighton and Graeme would commute to town, leaving Carolyn “lazing away at the beach day after day”.
Her father bought them a house in St Albans and Carolyn knitted, sewed and prepared everything necessary for the baby.
She recalled a vege garden and a lot of red and black currants around the backyard.
“I rapidly learned the skills of the early 60s about how to make jams, bake, preserve fruit, make pickles etc.”
Daughter Jo was born in August of that year and Graeme, following graduation from teachers college, took up a probationary position at Mairehau School.
The couple decided to take up the option of three years of mandatory country service, which saw them pack up their family, by then two daughters, and move to Papatawa in Woodville.
It was something of a culture shock for Carolyn, being a city girl, but Graeme took to it, first doing relief milking and then lambing and calving.
The family soon shifted to Hopelands, and by then son Kent had come along.
After their country service was over they had considered moving back to Christchurch, but by then they were well-established in the community and built a four-bedroom house in McLean St, Woodville. They would eventually buy a 12-hectare farm.
In 1986, Carolyn got a job with the Department of Social Welfare in Palmerston North, where she matched adoptees with their biological families.
While they loved living on the farm, there wasn’t much profit in it and after reading about a lavender farm, Carolyn decided to try it for herself, growing lavender for the oil.
After 20 years, they decided to retire from the lavender farm and moved to Pahiatua, where Carolyn began working in social services, eventually working with Pahiatua Community Services Trust.
Kelly Wylie, manager of Tararua Community Services, says she first met Carolyn around 2007 when the Tararua Early Years service was being established.
“At the time, I was co-ordinating a small maternity support service based at Heartlands and I approached Carolyn to see whether she would be interested in ‘adopting’ me.
“This was the start of many years of working together.”
Kelly says she learned a lot about community leadership and service development during those years.
“Carolyn was relatable and clever, with a great sense of humour. She certainly had the ‘gift of the gab’ and was admired by many ministry leaders and politicians who were frequent visitors to our rural service.”
She says one of the things she appreciated most was the family-friendly work environment Carolyn created.
“Our growing family will always be grateful for the flexibility that was offered to me, as a working mum.
“When Carolyn retired and I became the manager, it has been my privilege to continue her legacy in that way.”
Her efforts for the community did not go unnoticed and she was nominated for a Civic Award with Tararua District Council.
Graeme died in 2017 and Carolyn eventually moved to Greytown for more family support. As she had lung disease, she was particularly vulnerable when Covid came along.
Ill health meant she had to stay in a rest home for more than a year before she could return to her Greytown home. She lived there until Easter this year and after a hospital stay, she spent her final weeks in a Carterton rest home.
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