Carolyn N. Terrell | Quaker teacher, writer, 86

Carolyn Nicholson Terrell, 86, of Medford, a Quaker editor, writer and teacher, died of heart failure Feb. 20 at home.

Mrs. Terrell was on the staff of the Friends General Conference in Philadelphia in the 1970s and 1980s. She also served on the board of the Friends Journal, a Quaker periodical, and was clerk of the Quaker Universalist Fellowship. She was coauthor of Quakers on the Move, a history of Quakers in the United States.

In 1992, she edited the Directory for Traveling Friends for the Friends General Conferences, which are held annually around the country. For 25 years, she also prepared children's programs for the conferences.

Mr. Terrell taught First Day (Sunday School) classes at Friends meetings when she lived in Hamilton, N.Y. She also taught in the Germantown section of Philadelphia and for 12 years in Mount Holly. Students who were in her classes years ago still talk about her impact on their lives, said her daughter, Cynthia.

Mrs. Terrell graduated from Westtown School and earned a bachelor's degree in religion from Oberlin College in Ohio. For several years, she taught in elementary schools in West Philadelphia and at Friends Central School in Wynnewood. In 1950, she married Harrington Terrell, with whom she raised three children.

She enjoyed gardening and spending time at her family's vacation retreat on Rancocas Creek.

In addition to her daughter, Mrs. Terrell is survived by sons Nathan and Bruce, two brothers, and five grandchildren. Her husband died in 2001.

A memorial service will be held at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Mount Holly Friends Meetinghouse, 81 High St.

Memorial donations may be made to the American Friends Service Committee, 1501 Cherry St., Philadelphia 19102.