IRVINGTON—Carol Achenbach Hardy, 96, of Irvington passed away peacefully with family by her side on November 30, 2024, after a brief illness.
She was preceded in death by husbands Warren F. Taylor, with whom she raised three children, Mel Wright and Harry Hardy.
Born Carol Achenbach on December 10, 1927, in Millburn, New Jersey, she was the daughter of Charles and Helen Achenbach. She graduated from Milburn High School in 1945 and was planning to attend Duke University when her sister Jane called and encouraged her to join her at The College of William & Mary. Carol said, “I’d love to.” Carol was active in the W&M Choir and Pi Beta Phi sorority—the latter of which Jane served as president. Carol was also a cheerleader and one of the first female President’s Aides. She graduated in 1949 with a bachelor of arts in music.
After graduation, Carol moved to Greenwich Village and joined the Madison Avenue advertising firm Young & Rubicam as a secretary. In 1951, she married Warren F. Taylor, a Seton Hall University graduate and young executive in the commercial printing industry. The family moved five times in four years. When they moved to Chicago, Illinois, Carol entered a program to train guidance counselors, which sparked her interest in education. She taught elementary school music before moving to Connecticut where she earned a master’s in education at the University of Connecticut in 1975.
Carol loved teaching and was delighted when former students wrote to tell her how she positively impacted their lives and careers. She taught music in middle school at Mansfield Middle School in Mansfield, Connecticut, for 18 years. She and Warren founded the Friends of Field Hockey which supported student athletes, their families, and fans at the University of Connecticut.
All told, Carol worked for more than 60 years as a music educator, choir director and organist in Georgia, Massachusetts, Illinois, Connecticut and Virginia. In her later years, she was honored to serve as music director with the Northern Neck Bay Tones men’s barbershop chorus from 2003 to 2006.
Her husband Warren died unexpectedly in 1987. Later that year, she attended a football and cheerleading reunion at William & Mary with her sister Jane and Jane’s husband, the late Jack Freeman. There she met Mel Wright. The two married and moved to the Lower Northern Neck. It was then that Carol became an active member of the W&M alumni community and the Wrights helped build the Lower Northern Neck Alumni Chapter in 1990, which Carol served as president from 1995 to 1997.
Through the years, Carol’s dedication to William & Mary included serving as chair of the Olde Guarde Council, board member of the Lower Northern Neck Alumni Chapter and member of the Christopher Wren Association. She also took a leadership role with the parties for the Alumni Center (PAC) and class dinners.
She was acknowledged by William & Mary several times through the years. For her ongoing chapter efforts, she was awarded the Alumni Service Award in 1999. In 2003 she received the College of William & Mary Alumni Medallion, the highest honor the W&M Alumni Association can bestow on a graduate. It is given to individuals for their professional accomplishments, leadership, dedication to community and family and commitment to their alma mater.
She was thrilled to be named the 2010 William & Mary Homecoming Grand Marshal. She told the alumni magazine at the time, “I still can’t believe it. I was shocked because I have served on the alumni service committee, the Alumni Association Board of Directors and I know what goes into that sort of decision. I just never expected it.” In April 2018, she was granted the prestigious Olde Guarde Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes an individual whose class graduated a minimum of 50 years ago and who demonstrates exceptional dedication, involvement and continued service to the College, as well as lifetime achievement.
Carol survived her husband Mel, who died in 2004. Two years later, at a William & Mary function, she reconnected with Harry Hardy, who had been a widower for 10 years. The two married and enjoyed 10 years of wedded bliss until Harry’s passing in 2015.
Carol was an avid tennis player, competing—and winning—into her 70s. In addition, animals had a special place in her heart. She adored the family pets including loyal mutt Ms. Petunia the potbellied pig, and in recent years, her beloved miniature poodle, Lady.
A faithful Catholic and long-time communicant of St. Frances de Sales Church in Kilmarnock, Carol made two pilgrimages to the Sanctuary of Fatima, where she also directed the choir for the Fatima pilgrims in Portugal and Spain.
The family plans a private service at the William & Mary Memorial Garden in the spring. In lieu of flowers, family and friends are encouraged to donate in Carol’s memory to the animal protection nonprofit organization of their choice.
Currie Funeral Home LLC of Kilmarnock handled the arrangements.
