Carol Jane Elder, 80, of York Township, passed away Monday, December 26, 2022,
in her residence of fifty-four years.
Born August 2, 1942, in Washington, D.C., to William Samuel Matter and Lydia Maye Matter (née Mullin), both 40 years old. She grew up in Manada Gap, Pennsylvania, including attending Pine Hall one room schoolhouse for grades 1 through 5. In spite of her humble background, she excelled in school. She was valedictorian of the 1960 class at Hershey High School. She earned a full scholarship to Franklin School of Science and Arts in Philadelphia. In 1961 she graduated summa cum laude and again valedictorian. While working weekends and nights at Polyclinic Hospital in Harrisburg to fund her bachelor’s degree, she met and married Barry Jon Elder on August 28, 1965, at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Camp Hill. Barry was second officer on United flight 553 and died on December 8, 1972. Widowed with three children ages 6, 5, and 4; she simultaneously took college classes while working and being a single mother. She graduated magma cum laude with a B.S. in Medical Technology from Lebanon Valley College in January 1977. She worked full time in the microbiology laboratory at York Hospital from 1976 though 2010, and part time from 2010 through 2017, including serving as Clinical Instructor from 1980-1990 and Supervisor from 1990-2009. While she never remarried, for her 55th birthday a friend introduced her to James H. Clark of Red Lion. They were “significant others” until his death on June 26, 2010.
Carol’s interests included needlework, reading, flower gardening, photography, puzzles, and playing Mah Jongg. She was a former member and Past President of the Thimble and Thread chapter of the Embroiderer’s Guild of America and a former member of the American Needlework Guild. She belonged to both the HealthSouth and OLLI book clubs. As a youth she was athletic, playing basketball, baseball, and tennis.
Carol always said she lived an interesting life. Growing up as the only child in a second marriage, her parents delighted in this unanticipated blessing. Her father taught her to hunt and fish. In her youth she could shoot as well as most men, could field-gut a deer, and could make groundhog stew. Education got her out of poverty. Her marriage was not uncommon for the 1960s. With the time constraints of her third pregnancy and Barry Jon’s new job with United Airlines, he purchased the house without her seeing it. In 1968, while Barry was away at flight school, Carol and Lydia Mae moved two toddlers and a newborn infant into the home Carol would occupy for the rest of her life. After Barry’s death, Carol was a single mother in a time when an employer could say to her face he would hire any man before he would hire a woman with three children. She successfully raised three children. She was active as a grandmother and lived long enough to see all her grandchildren graduate high school. At work she correctly identified even the most obscure microbes, providing doctors with essential information. It is unknown how many lives she saved through her daily work, on-call work, and training of new microbiologists. She aged so gently people rarely guessed her age, while at the same time facing health challenges with aplomb. Her sudden passing is universally shocking to her family and friends.
Surviving are her 2 daughters Jolie Elder and Beverly Spangler, son Eric Elder, and her 3 grandchildren TJ Spangler, Kevin Spangler, and Bailie Spangler, and son-in-laws W. Douglas Barron and Timothy Spangler.
A Celebration of Life service will be held on Wednesday, January 4, 2023, at 10 AM, at Holy Infant Catholic Church, 535 Conewago Creek Rd, Manchester PA 17345 with Deacon Joe Kramer presiding. Carol was a gifted storyteller. We invite family, friends, and colleagues to come prepared to share your stories. Internment will be at Woodlawn Memorial Gardens in Harrisburg, beside the husband she outlived by 50 years.
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