Carol Scott Stranahan died Sunday as she was preparing some
of her
watercolors for exhibition at a regional art show near her home
in Mercer, Pa.
She was 83.
Several of the paintings were of scenes from Chebeague, where
she and her
late husband John, who died in 2000, had spent their summers since
1969. In
the years since John's death, she had become an avid painter,
and particularly
enjoyed capturing the island's beach scenes and wildflowers.
At the urging of
her family, she took a few paintings to Vicki Todd, who had just
opened the
Artisans' Icehouse. Vicki accepted the paintings and at the end
of the summer
sent Carol a check, which she joked the first paycheck she had
received since
working in a factory during World War II. (A photo of the check
one of the
paintings proudly hung on the wall near her drawing table.)
Carol was an avid reader, knitter and, until failing health
limited her activities,
a devoted gardener. On the island, she was a member of the Chebeague
Island Historical Society. She and her cat, Charlotte, could
often be found
sunning themselves on the back stoop of her house.
A native of Cleveland, Carol graduated from The College of
Wooster (where
she met her future husband the first week of school). She lived
in Mercer since
shortly after their marriage in 1944.
She is survived by her daughters, Susan Stranahan, of Wynnewood
Pa. and
Chebeague; Patricia Stranahan of Geneva, N.Y., Kathleen Stranahan
Eichner of
Gibsonia, Pa., and grand-daughter Joan Eichner, currently serving
in the Peace
Corps in Guyana.
A memorial service will be held at Trinity Presbyterian Church,
110 East Market
Street, Mercer, Pa. at 4 p.m. Thursday. In lieu of flowers, the
family suggests
contributions to the Chebeague Island Historical Society.