Carolyn M. Freeman, 62, died early Tuesday, April 26, in the home she loved and shared with her beloved mother, Eleanor R. Cassidy, of Lancaster. She is survived by her son James M. Freeman, his wife Melissa, their children Isabella and Seamus; and her son Joseph J. Freeman and his wife Brenda. She was preceded in death by her husband James. Her grandchildren were her greatest joy, and she will be in their hearts forever, as they will be in hers. Also surviving are her five siblings, Mary Anne Pisano and her husband Sam; Joseph Cassidy and his wife Kathy; Suzanne Cassidy and her husband Peter Fidgett; Peg Poplar and her husband Jack; and John Cassidy and his wife Carrie; and 15 nieces and nephews, whom she loved unwaveringly and fiercely. She also will be missed by a wonderful multitude of aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

At her core, Carol was a teacher. She taught her sons to be good men. She taught her brothers and sisters the importance of offering support and love. She taught her grandchildren and nieces and nephews the joy that can be found in books, and even in American history.

A life skills teacher with IU13, she taught children with multiple disabilities and was their champion in every way. She never stopped thinking of her students and spent many Saturday mornings browsing at garage sales to find some book, some teaching tool, that could reach them. She talked the Phillie Phanatic into coming into her classroom because she knew a visit would make her students smile. She welcomed other high school students into her classroom as volunteers; she mentored them, cared for them and inspired them. She loved not only her students but her colleagues in her classroom, her partners in the adventure and challenge of teaching, and they loved her, too.

Everyone who knew Carol knew her to be one of the warmest, kindest, most compassionate people in the world, beautiful inside and out.

She was every bit as Irish — sentimental, slyly funny, deeply Catholic — as her late father Joe. He and her mother welcomed Carol, their first child of six, with an abiding elation and thankfulness. She had her grandmother Dorothy Nicklaus' goodness and her grandfather Gregory Nicklaus' spirit of generosity.

She graduated with a degree in special education from Millersville University.

She loved the ocean, reading, the Phillies and a good garage sale bargain, but most of all, she loved her family. And they will love her and remember her forever, and await the day when she will greet them with her arms open wide at the corner of heaven and earth.

Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, April 29, at St. Anne's Roman Catholic Church, 929 N. Duke St., Lancaster. Friends and family members will be received from 10 to 11 a.m. before the Mass at St. Anne's. Interment will follow in St. Anthony's Catholic Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Carol's name to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation on its website at bcrfcure.org or by mail, 60 East 56th St., Eighth Floor, New York, N.Y. 10022. Please earmark donations to Triple Negative Breast Cancer research.