Carolyn Coakley-Hickerson, author, educator, researcher and consultant, passed away peacefully April 27, 2000, at her home in Sonoma, CA, after a long struggle with breast cancer. Words cannot begin to express the profound loss her passing has brought to her friends, associates, former students, family, and her loving husband. Carolyn will be missed by all those whose lives she touched, and she will be remembered fondly by so many who loved her.

Born Carolyn Jeanne Gwynn on May 8, 1943, in Fairmont, West Virginia, she spent her life in the pursuit of educational excellence in the fields of Speech Communication, Listening Research, Listening Training and English. Carolyn graduated from Fairmont State College, Fairmont, WV, with a B.A. in Speech and English (1965). She earned her Master’s in Listening from the University of Maryland, College Park, MD, in 1973, and taught Speech, English, and Listening at High Point High School, Prince George’s County, MD, and as an adjunct faculty member in the Speech Communication Department at the University of Maryland – College Park, before retirement in 1990.

On December 26 1991, Carolyn married Thomas Hickerson and moved to Sonoma, CA, where she continued to teach as an adjunct faculty member at Santa Rosa Junior College, Sonoma State University and at the University of Maryland – University College as an online education instructor. She developed and taught online courses in Listening.

Carolyn’s consulting expertise was sought by ABC’s 20/20 for a segment on listening in 1999. She also worked with AT&T Global Information Solutions (Dayton, OH); M.W. Kellogg Co. (Houston, TX); E.I. DuPont (Wilmington, DE); Copernicus, Inc. (West Chester, PA); Sioux City Community Schools (Sioux City, IA); and Toyota of Kentucky, among others.

Her books include the college text Listening, now in its 5^th edition (co-authored with Dr. Andrew D. Wolvin), and Teaching Effective Listening for instruction on both the secondary and collegiate level. She has authored numerous other books, articles and papers (many with Dr. Wolvin) on the subject of listening theory and instruction.

Carolyn has been interviewed on NBC’s "The Today Show"; National Public Radio in Washington, D.C.; KTIS Radio in St. Paul, MN; and WDMV-TV’s "Morning Break" in Washington, D.C. Her last interview dealt with the online Listening course that she developed and taught through U.M.U.C.; this was published in the April 23, 2000, edition of Access Internet magazine.

Among her many honors and awards are that she was The Washington Post’s Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award (1987); was honored (with Andrew Wolvin) by the Speech Communication Association as best-selling authors of Listening; was granted the Christa McAuliffe Fellowship Award to develop a listening training program for the U.S. Department of Education in 1987; and was given the key to the City of Scottsdale, AZ, in 1988. She was a member of the National Communication Association, Maryland Retired Teachers Association, and a founding member of the International Listening Association of which she is a past president and member of the ILA Hall of Fame.

In addition to her husband Thomas R. Hickerson, Carolyn is survived by her sister Shirley Fleming and husband William (Hoppy) Fleming and her mother, Hilde Gwynn, all of Fairmont, WV. She leaves her mother-in-law, Virginia Hickerson of Sonoma, her stepson, Chad Hickerson of Santa Rosa, and nephew William Fleming. She is preceded in passing by her father, James Gwynn, and her precious niece, Renee Fleming.

Memorial services will be held by her family and friends in Fairmont, WV, on Sunday, May 7, 2000, at the Valley Chapel United Methodist Church of Pleasant Valley at 2:00 pm; and on Friday, May 12, 2000, at 4:00 pm in Sonoma, CA, at Bates, Evans, and Fehrensen, 966 Broadway.

Carolyn requested that no flowers be sent. Donations may be made to the scholarship fund in her name at Sonoma Valley Bank, PO Box 1288, Sonoma, CA 95467; The National Psoriasis Foundation, 6600 SW 92^nd Avenue, Suite 300, Portland, OR 97223-7195; Sonoma Valley Junior Golf, 1110 Beasley Way, Sonoma, CA, 95476; International Listening Association Memorial Fund; International Listening Association Convention Paper Resource Center;or to the charity of the donor’s choice.

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