Carolyn was born March 30, 1938 in Brooklyn, New York to her adoring parents, Marwin Frederick Jonas and Claudia Cannon. She was raised in Glendale and Burbank, California, where she graduated from Burbank High School.
She graduated from the University of Utah, where she was elected Student Body Secretary, Senior Class Vice President, President of her sorority Delta Gamma, and President of Panhellenic. She was named to Beehive Honor Society and Mortar Board. Carolyn earned a BA in English and later earned a Masters Degree in English from Los Angeles State University.
She taught high school English in Glendale and Montgomery County, Maryland. She later taught U.S. History and Civics in middle school in Salt Lake City.
Carolyn married John L. Harmer on June 24, 1960 in the Los Angeles LDS Temple, and they lived in Maryland and California before moving to Bountiful.
Carolyn was a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and treasured her testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She served in the presidencies and as a teacher in Primary, Young Women, and Relief Society Organizations. She also taught Gospel Doctrine, served as Girl's Camp director, served as a Cub Scout and Webelos leader, and was a merit badge counselor for many years.
Carolyn loved music and taught piano lessons for over thirty years. She played the organ in the Bountiful Temple for nineteen years and served as a Ward organist for over sixty-five years. She also served as a docent for twelve years in the Museum of Church History and Art. She loved directing music in Primary and was a Ward Choir director in three different wards. Most of all, Carolyn loved hearing her children and grandchildren sing together.
She devoted her life to us, and we will be forever grateful for her unconditional love and selfless service.
Carolyn is survived by her husband, John L. Harmer; her ten remarkable [her words] children whom she loved dearly: David (Elayne Wells), Matthew (Stacy Larsen), Vivian (Mark Ellsworth), Christopher (Roshelle Davis), Elizabeth (Keith Dionne), Joseph (Christina Vistaunet), Jonathan (Lynnelle Pyper), Amy Marie (Jon Cox), Miriam Anne, and Wendy Bryn (Micah McOwen); and thirty-four adored grandchildren, with her thirty-fifth grandchild arriving in a few weeks and her first great-grandchild due to arrive in November. Carolyn is also survived by her loving siblings, Jeffrey Cannon Jonas (Judy Hale), Marianne (Steve Eastmond), and Penelope Barth; and many treasured nieces and nephews. Carolyn was preceded in death by her beloved parents and a precious granddaughter, Olivia Grace Harmer.
The family wishes to thank the kind and caring staff, nurses, and doctors at LDS Hospital and the hospice aides and nurses for their support during the past three weeks.
Funeral services will be held on Monday, August 10, 2015 in the Bountiful, Utah Mueller Park Stake Center, 1800 East Mueller Park Road. A visitation will be at the church from 9:00-11:00 a m., with funeral proceedings to follow at 11:30 a.m.
Interment will be at the Lake View Memorial Estates Cemetery in Bountiful.
Published in the Deseret News on August 9, 2015.
