Caroline Ruth Warren

October 30, 1960 - May 22, 2014
Caroline Ruth Warren

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Williamsburg- Caroline Ruth Warren, 53, passed away on Thursday, May 22, 2014 after a brief battle with brain cancer.

Caroline was a Teacher. Known by many as Ms. C, she began her career in 1999 as a gifted education teacher at South Morrison Elementary School in Newport News after earning her degree at Christopher Newport University in 1997. She later taught at Stonehouse Elementary School in James City County until she was forced to retire in 2011 due to multiple sclerosis.

She is survived by her husband Robert M. Warren, two sons, Adam R. Cureton (Whitney) and Christopher J. Cureton, a sister, Anne Duff (Will), a brother, Stewart Bell (Maxine), nieces, nephews and the many children whoís minds she touched as a teacher.

The family will receive friends Thursday, May 29, 2014 from 6 to 8 pm at Bucktrout Funeral Home. A service will be held 1:00 pm, Friday, May 30, 2014 at Hickory Neck Episcopal Church, 8300 Richmond Road, Toano, VA.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested memorial contributions be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Central and Eastern Virginia Chapter, 4200 Innslake Dr., Ste: 30, Glen Allen, VA. 23060.


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  • May 28, 2014
    Amy Alvis says:
    Caroline was a very special person to myself and my son Robbie. I can still remember like it was yesterday when I met Caroline. When C.J. and Robbie were only 3 or 4 years old in daycare together. They became fast friends and through our kids, we meet and became good friends. I will never forget you Caroline. You was indeed a very special person and the smartest person in my life.

  • May 28, 2014
    Kristin Froehlich says:
    Caroline was truly one of a kind! She has been missed at Stonehouse since she left. I will always remember her creativity and love of teaching. She leaves a special place in the world to all who knew her.

  • May 28, 2014
    Kim Vittori.... says:
    I had the privilege of being Caroline's 3rd Grade TAG Assistant. For that, I will always be grateful. Her spirit and love of teaching touched every student who ever had the blessing of being one of Ms. C's students. I know their lives were truly enriched by having her as their teacher. She made each day in her classroom fun; she made the kids want to come to school. She was magic! She was a teacher who loved her students, as well as her diet drink and chocolate. Even though her favorite color to wear was black, her bright, colorful spirit brought such joy, laughter and love into her classroom. Caroline went above and beyond what a teacher should be. How many teachers jump rope with their students, or extend an invitation to their students to join them at the theater to watch "Harry Potter" together? Even when Ms. C said her infamous line to her kids, "I love you, go away!" they always knew they could count on her to greet them each morning at the classroom door with a hug and end each day with a hug as they got onto the bus. It gives me great comfort to know that Caroline's, Ms. C's, memory will live on in each student that ever entered through her classroom door. Our lives were truly made better simply by knowing her.

  • May 28, 2014
    Patricia Craft says:
    Ms. Warren will always be an indelible image. She was an inspiration to my son Chris and a mentor as well. She challenged him with care and concern to the best he could be. She will be sorely missed.

  • May 28, 2014
    Debi Sutherland says:
    To the family of Mrs. Caroline Warren. I wanted to share my journal from the night we found out about Ms. C's passing. She was truly an amazing teacher and I am so blessed we had her in our lives. She spoke of her family often and the love she felt for you all was evident. Ms. C was not just a teacher, she was a part of our lives. Erin was in 3rd grade at South Morrison in 2003. I want you to know that although we are a military family and have moved to Colorado, Erin stayed in VA to attend UVA where She has just finished up her second year. I am so grateful we got to see Ms. C one more time in 2012 before Erin went off to college. I wish we could be there in person to help you celebrate the wonderful person that she was. Our deepest condolences to your whole family! Deb Sutherland Going to bed with a very heavy heart tonight. Erin came home to a message that her beloved 3rd grade teacher, Ms. C, has passed away. If you have ever engaged me in a conversation about great teachers, you would have heard some of our stories about Mrs. Caroline Warren. I was blessed to be her Wednesday parent volunteer. Wednesdays were special project days, and we never knew what fascinating and fun project Ms. C would have cooked up for that day. There was the time, around Halloween, that each child was asked to bring in a hollowed out pumpkin. I thought it was a little odd that we were carving pumpkins in class, but this was a geography lesson. We gave the students a map of the globe and they had to trace all the continents in the correct locations and also label the oceans and seas. Another time I was asked to bring in all the nail polish I could, then helped her blow out several dozen eggs so the kids could design and paint their own faberge eggs. My most favorite lesson was when they were studying Michelangelo. Ms. C's instructions were to cover the bottom of each child's desk with large sheets of drawing paper. Candles in mason jars were spread out on the floor between the desks, safety glasses were supplied, along with a pencil, palate of paint, and plaster of paris. The lights were turned off in the room and when the students arrived they were told they needed to use the restroom now because they were about to climb hundreds of feet up onto scaffolding, lie flat on their backs, and proceed to paint their masterpiece just as Michaelangelo painted the Sistine chapel. There would be no time to waste climbing down the ladder off the scaffolding. For the rest of the period the students worked under their desks, lying flat on the floor, first sketching their designs, then quickly painting before the paint dried. Ms. C. was eccentric, and everyone who knew her loved her for it. She was a reptile lover and had numerous snakes (pythons,) who came to school with her. The kids got to feed the snakes mice every one in a while and would study the molted skin under the microscope. Her snakes were her babies and once Ms. C. got into an accident on the way to school but wouldn't get in the ambulance until the policeman promised he would transport her snakes (located in pillowcases in the back seat) safely to school. Her favorite snake was Athena (the goddess of love) and Erin made the mistake of volunteering to snake sit over Spring Break without clearing it first with her father, who is none too fond of snakes. Erin's pleadings finally prevailed but the first night Athena spend in our home Jon wouldn't go to sleep until he piled at least 10 of the biggest books we owned on top of Athena's cage so that there was no way she could escape during the night. Ms. C. wasn't married but she fell in love with a man named Mike and after Christmas shared the news that she was engaged. About this time the students were studying other religions and of course Ms. C found a way to tie it all into her engagement. As the wedding drew near we learned about the practice of Hindu brides getting henna tattoos before their wedding night. Mrs. C brought in all the supplies to demonstrate and then the students proceeded to practice on each other before tattooing their beloved teacher. And books. We haven't even talked about the books she shared with the kids. Their favorite time of day was story time. Ms. C said you were never too old to be read to, and that is exactly what she did each day. From "The House at Pooh Corner" , to the Narnia series, and Madeleine L'engle's "A Wrinkle in Time" series these kids were exposed to great literature which is perhaps the greatest gift we can give our children. They didn't just listen to the stories they studied the vocabulary words, and had to know how to use them. Their monthly oral book projects were as varied as their art projects; one month they had to make a flip chart, the next month a commercial, another a 3D mobile, then a movie poster and they even had to design a cereal box book report. The brilliant part was the kids were having so much fun being creative they didn't have time to stress about giving an oral presentation. Her teaching style was pure brilliance. My girls have all been blessed to have amazing and special teachers in their lives. This much I know for sure and certain; the success our children have had would not be possible without the love and dedication of a few amazing individuals who we are forever indebted to. Ms. C you were the first and will always hold a special place in our hearts. I went to bed feeling so heartbroken but somehow reminiscing about the time in your class has lifted my spirits. I know you are up in heaven beaming with pride as you see all the positive influence you had on so many lives. Rest in peace.