Carolyn Jean Parham Ely of Lewisville, Texas passed away peacefully on February 27, 2025 at the age of 71.   Carolyn was born on August 11, 1953 to Billy and Eloise Parham in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.  She was their third child and only daughter, having two older brothers, Tom and Fred, and one younger brother, Jim, who ended up giving her her lifelong nickname, Callie, because he couldn't say Carolyn when he was little.

As a young child, she loved her dolls, and she loved her pets.  She talked about her Betsy Wetsy doll and one called Chatty Cathy.  One of her favorite movies, Pollyanna, came out when she was a kid, and she even had a Pollyanna doll.  As an adult, she wanted to be the one to buy each granddaughter an American Girl doll.  On their farm nearby, there were always plenty of animals – cats, dogs, rabbits, horses, and cows, nearly all of which had names.

In 1957, they moved to Muskogee, Oklahoma where she spent her childhood.  As a child, she was quiet and shy and tried not to be the center of attention.  She loved to read books and play jacks on the front porch and make mud pies with her brothers.  Her brothers said she got a kick out of beating them at cards, including Old Maid. Of course, she helped out with chores on the farm.  Her brothers remember the time that she accidentally fell into the horse trough and got soaking wet and was so embarrassed. With a dad that was a county agent, she definitely participated in 4H and showed calves at the county fair.

Her family made the trek every year to Bluefield, West Virginia to visit her grandmother, known as Grandma Dilkey.  The six of them would pile into the station wagon, picnic along the way, and drive through the night – with four kids, they got along better when they were asleep.  She had very fond memories of her grandmother. It was Grandma Dilkey who taught Carolyn to sew.

Growing up, her family was very active in the Methodist church.  She was a cheerleader at Alice Robertson Junior High in Muskogee.  In junior high, she was excited to paint her room with yellow and pink stripes and recalled that she was surprised her parents had let her.

In 1968, her dad was offered a promotion, and they moved to Ada, Oklahoma.  She made some lifelong friends there, including Vicki McKain, Kathy Savage, Rozzie Purdy, and Rita Netherton.  At Ada High, she was an officer in several different organizations, including the vice president of the Contnahomas Pep Club.  She was a good student, saying once that she wanted to keep up with her older brother Fred.  She was very involved in high school, so much so that her picture appeared on more pages in their senior yearbook than anyone else's, at 15 pages.

In 1971, during her senior year, she started dating Richard Ely who would become her husband.  One of her best friends was dating Richard's brother at the time, and when their dad was unexpectedly killed in a car crash, her friend brought Carolyn along with her when she went to comfort them.  They must have hit it off because Richard asked her out to a basketball game less than a month later.  She would often joke that their first three dates were all basketball games.

They were married two years later in June 1973.  She graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1975 with a degree in education.  She knew from a young age that she wanted to be a teacher.

In 1971, she became Aunt Callie when her niece Mia was born, and she was infatuated with Mia from day one. Carolyn and Richard had their first child, David, in 1976 while Richard was still in graduate school in Norman, Oklahoma.  She was ecstatic to be a mom.  All of her life, she wanted to be a teacher, and she wanted to be a mom.

In 1977, they moved to Boulder, Colorado so Richard could pursue his doctorate degree.  In 1978, they welcomed their first daughter, Janet.  She always used to say that she was thrilled she "got her girl".  Life with two toddlers kept her very busy.  In 1979, Richard, Carolyn, and the kids spent four months in Padua, Italy where Richard had the opportunity to follow his thesis adviser there to study.  Their time in Italy was memorable and produced many good stories – the best of which involved a four-year-old David guiding his grandmother through the bus system to his favorite pizza place.

In 1982, Richard graduated and the family moved to Lewisville, Texas where he had been offered a job.  They were happy to be back much closer to their families in Oklahoma whom they visited frequently, spending many Thanksgivings, Christmases, and summer holidays on the lake together.  Carolyn started teaching at a local Christian private school.  In 1984, they welcomed their third child, Sharon, who was a surprise and a gift.

Carolyn taught children's church at First Assembly of God in Lewisville for 18 years.  In 1987, she started working for Agape Montessori preschool where Sharon was enrolled as a student and fell in love with the Montessori principles and curriculum.  She worked at Agape until 1990.  She took some time off after her mom passed away.

In 1991, she started teaching again at Montessori Episcopal School which became one of the most meaningful places to her.  She served there in multiple capacities.  She was the director of the school from 1992 until 1998. She was known for organizing some awe-inspiring summer camps and for writing poems and songs to celebrate her fellow staff. She also was the chapel director, she spearheaded a new before & after school program, and in her later years there, she served as the music teacher in addition to teaching her toddler class. Her favorite age was two-year-olds.  She loved them and they loved her.  Janet's two kids – Xander & Connor - and Mia's son Jack all got to be in her class.  She decided that year it was ok if the whole class called her grandma.  She was very proud to get her 25-years-of-service plaque; at the time, she was the longest-tenured teacher in MES history.  She taught at the school for a total of 28 years.  She retired from MES in 2019 but kept up her many friendships that she made through the school over the years.

She loved her kids and grandkids and was beyond excited to become a grandma when Summer was born in 2002.  She went from being Aunt Callie to Grandma Callie.  We always remarked that it was a good thing that Summer was born the same year Sharon graduated from high school, so that she didn't have to be an empty nester for long.  When Summer and her sister Samantha were little, she made a point to get down to Austin every month to see them.  When Janet's kids came along a few years later, Grandma Callie helped watch them from the time they were babies all the way through elementary school and beyond.  When Sharon's two girls were born, Autumn and Lavender, she would fly up to Massachusetts multiple times a year to watch them for school breaks and to help with elaborate birthday parties.

She never shied away from helping people.  She was someone you could always count on if you were in a bind. She gave her time, her expertise and experience, and most importantly, her encouragement.  Carolyn took care of her ailing mother when she was in her 30's while she still had small children of her own, and then again 20 years later, she made weekly visits to Oklahoma to see her father in the VA center.

All of her life, she loved to sew - starting in high school when she made most of her own clothes, including her prom dress and later her wedding dress, followed by the Halloween costumes that she made her kids and grandkids, and later in life, the dozens of quilts that she made for family, friends, the school auctions, and other charitable organizations.  She was always planning the next one in her head.  In fact, when she was in rehab these last few weeks, she asked if she could have her sewing machine there.

She also loved to play the piano.  She took lessons throughout her childhood and continued to play all her life. In her later years, she liked to paint and got pretty good at it.  She had a love of words and enjoyed writing poems, stories, plays, songs, letters, and especially lists.   She also really liked lighthouses and would seek them out during all her travels.

She was our family historian and could recount her family tree for several generations back.  She knew all the stories about everyone in the family.  In fact, we all wished when we were writing this that we could have asked her to fill in the gaps of what we missed.

Carolyn is survived by many people who love her – her husband Richard Ely of 52 years and her three children – David Ely and his wife Allison and their two children, Summer and Samantha; Janet Fukuda and her husband Marc and their two children, Xander and Connor; and Sharon Munisamy and her husband Thiru and their two children, Autumn and Lavender.  She is also survived by her three brothers, Tom Parham, Fred Parham, and Jim Parham and his wife Linda.  She is also survived by her brother-in-law Steve Ely and his wife Kaye.  She is survived by her nieces and nephews – Mia Parham and her partner David and son Jack; Marc Parham and his two daughters Morgan and Shelby and their mom Renee; Julianne Mitchell; Jason Parham; Leighann Snook and her husband Jesse with their two children, Gracie and James; Merritt Parham and his wife Moira and their three children McCarthy, Cillian, and Fiona; Carpenter Parham and fiancée Emily; Brandon Moore and his son Jacob; Chris Ely and his daughter Shaylynne, and Lori Ely and her two children, Brittney and Carter.  She is also survived by countless close friends.

Visitation will take place on Friday, March 7th from 6-8 pm at Mulkey-Mason Funeral Home located at 740 S. Edmonds Lane in Lewisville.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, March 8th, also at the Mulkey-Mason Funeral Home with Steve Ely officiating.  A graveside service and burial will follow at Memorial Park Cemetery in Ada, Oklahoma with Don Couch presiding. Arrangements are by Mulkey-Mason Funeral Home.

We invite you to attend the virtual Celebration Of Life that will be live streamed using https://zoom.us/  or the Mobile Zoom App on your device. You must have a Zoom account to view the live stream of the service.

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Memorials may be given to any organization that benefits children.