Carolyn Ann Chormann

Carolyn Ann Chormann, age 84, passed away March 18, 2022, in Naples, Florida. She was born in Adrian, MI on March 16, 1938, to the late Vaughn Leroy and Helen Naomi (Sheldon) Curtis. On September 7, 1957, in Adrian, Carolyn married Richard Frederick Chormann, who survives. Carolyn graduated from Adrian High School in 1956. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Western Michigan University in 1961, and her Master of Arts, also from Western Michigan University, in 1976. Carolyn taught at the Portage Public Schools and did substitute teaching in the Kalamazoo and Gull Lake schools. Carolyn and Dick lived in Kalamazoo from 1956 until 2001, when they moved north to their retirement home on Glen Lake. While in Kalamazoo, Carolyn took an active role in various capacities in the community, including the Kalamazoo County Mental Health Board as chair, Kalamazoo Child Guidance Clinic, and Ministry with Community, an agency for the Homeless. During her years with Ministry with Community, Carolyn was involved in various initiatives including raising $3,500,000 to improve facilities, a Photography Project which provided a development opportunity for clients at Ministry, and along with seven others Carolyn started a project in 1995 to gather clothing and funds for Ministry clients. This effort continues to this day and attracts several hundred Kalamazoo residents each fall helping to raise funds and provide new clothing donations for clients of Ministry with Community. Carolyn participated in the American Association of University Women and served on the boards of the Mad Hatters Agency (an agency that uses Theater for understanding diversity,) Kalamazoo Consultation Center, Kalamazoo Institute of the Arts, and was a member of the Investment Clubs of Birmingham, Gull Lake, and Kalamazoo. After moving north, Carolyn’s passion for advocacy moved with her. She was the secretary of the board of Friends of Glen Lake Community Library, and a member of Daughters of the American Revolution, Glen Arbor Women’s Club, Glen Lake Women’s Club, and Garden Clubs of Gull Lake, Cranbrook, and Glen Lake. Carolyn also enjoyed projects to help soldiers stationed abroad and packed over 400 care boxes for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan (Glen Lake and Naples.) For her efforts on behalf of the soldiers, a Blackhawk helicopter pilot presented an American flag to Carolyn that had flown over Ninewa Province, Iraq on December 9, 2009. Carolyn’s church affiliations through the years included Trinity Lutheran Church in Kalamazoo, where she was the Vacation Bible School Director, the First Presbyterian Church in Richland, where she was an Elder and a member of the Personnel and Pulpit Nominating Committee, the Glen Lake Reformed Church in Burdickville, and the Moorings Presbyterian Church in Naples, FL. As can be seen by her activities, Carolyn was happiest when she was around people and many benefited from her kindness, thoughtfulness and cheerful personality. In addition to her husband, Carolyn is survived by her two children, James Chormann of Glen Lake and Saline, MI (Meridee Miller and daughter Brooke Segal) and Cynthia Chormann Hann of Glen Arbor, MI and Oakton, VA; grandchildren Gregory Chormann Jr., Christina (Chormann) Goodbrand, Matthew Chormann, Kimberly (Hann) Warner, Connor Hann, and Caitlyn Hann; and great-grandson, Vaughn Chormann. Carolyn was preceded in death by her parents; a son, Gregory; and a brother, David. A memorial ceremony for Carolyn will be held at Glen Lake Community Reformed Church on Saturday May 14, 2022, at 1:00pm (4902 W. MacFarlane Rd, Glen Arbor, MI) with a reception to follow at the church. Interment will take place at Maple Grove Cemetery in Empire, MI. Those wishing to give a gift in memory of Carolyn, may direct contributions to: Glen Lake Association Endowment Fund (PO Box 551, Glen Arbor, MI 49636) Interlochen Center for the Arts (PO Box 199, Interlochen, MI 49643) Leelanau Nature Conservancy (105 N. First Street, Leland, MI 49654.) Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home, Traverse City, Michigan. www.reynolds-jonkhoff.com

Carolyn Ann Chormann

March 16, 1938 - March 18, 2022