Carolyn Louise (Beckwith) Schultz

Carolyn Louise (Beckwith) Schultz, age 89, died at Rose Arbor Place, Kalamazoo, MI, on September 10, 2023. She was born in Vermillion, SD, on April 20, 1934, to Clarence George and Dorothy Roslyn (Kiefer) Beckwith. Carolyn grew up in South Dakota, the daughter of two educators. In 1946, the family moved to Benton Harbor when her father was recruited to begin the junior college in Benton Harbor, later known as Lake Michigan College. She used to like to say she grew up with the college from her teens on. After graduating from Benton Harbor High School as valedictorian, she attended the University of Michigan where she graduated with a BA in English in 1956 and met her husband, Ralston Wayne Schultz (known as Rally), there. They lived in Baltimore, MD, for two years before moving to Buffalo, NY, and eventually settled in Ann Arbor in 1968. Carolyn’s first job was as a schoolteacher, but she quit teaching to stay home and raise their three children. After Rally was laid off from his first career as an Aerospace Engineer, Rally and Carolyn became Amway business owners. Rally died young at age 55 and Carolyn continued the business from her home office, selling Amway for 50 years.

In Buffalo, Carolyn was active in the U of M Club recruiting students. She also helped develop a group which worked to create educational opportunities for bright children with learning disabilities. Later, in Ann Arbor, she was active with and served as president of CASA (Community Action on Substance Abuse) to bring attention to the drug problem in the middle and high schools in the area. Her love of music led her to volunteer for the Ann Arbor Symphony and usher at Hill Auditorium for 30 years.

Carolyn attended First Presbyterian Church in Ann Arbor the entire time she lived there. Over the years, she served several times as a deacon and helped with the high school students. As she aged, she helped develop the Mature Ministries program.

In 2001, Carolyn supervised the building of her dream home in the woods at the edge of Ann Arbor and lived her life quietly there. She loved gardening, using native plants on her wild, wooded property. Hospitality was important to her as she liked having gatherings at her various homes and even offered her extra bedroom to family members of long-term hospital patients and student boarders.

Carolyn is survived by her brother, Lt. Colonel George Glen (Becky) Beckwith; her three married children, Kerwin (Tracy) Schultz, Martin (Kelly) Schultz, and Alison (Guy Murtonen) Schultz; her two grandchildren Alec and Nathan Schultz; and many nieces and nephews. She valued faith, family, and business partners and had a passion for the environment, gardening, and music. Most of all she would like to be remembered as “mom,” a person of openness to all people.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor on Saturday, September 30, 2023, at 2 p.m. Interment will be in the church’s memorial garden.

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be given to Lake Michigan College Promise scholarship fund, First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor Endowment fund, or The Nature Conservancy (designate MI). To view Carolyn's personalized webpage please visit https://www.langelands.com