Carol Lee Garfield Miller Harsin was born February 3, 1943, in Kansas City, Missouri to Beulah and Leonard Garfield. She had an older brother, Jerry, and a younger sister, Penny. Her maternal grandparents lived across the street from them and her paternal grandparents lived about 2 miles away. They were a stable, small, close-knit family.

She grew up in the northeast area of Kansas City, Missouri where she attended James Elementary School and Northeast Junior and Senior High Schools. She graduated from Central Missouri State University with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, and from the University of Missouri at Kansas City she earned a Master of Arts degree in Reading Education.

She married Herbert Miller and they had a son Steven Gregory. They were divorced and she later married Rodney R. Harsin. They were married for 54 years.

Carol began her work career as a soda jerk for a local drugstore at the age of 15. At 16, she started working part-time as a sales clerk for Sears and continued during her high school and college years. Carol was an elementary school teacher and taught third grade for three years. She then became a Reading Specialist and taught reading in the Shawnee Mission School District for 35 years. She loved helping people of all ages. She also taught undergraduate courses such as Speed Reading and Reading for Adults at UMKC and taught graduate courses in reading education at the University of Kansas. She was an active member of the International Reading Association serving as president, vice-president, and treasurer. She was a lifetime member of both the National and Local Parent Teachers Association and the National Education Association. Carol retired from teaching in 2005.

Line dancing, family get-togethers, time with her grandchildren, parties, birding, and socializing with friends were favorite activities for her. She enjoyed science fiction and had a life-long interest in astronomy and space exploration.

Carol was an active member of All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church where she found inspiration, friendship, and social justice. She served on the church's Board of Trustees, a number of committees, and several task forces, and participated with many other groups. She was in charge of Dinners for Eight for many years. She loved the Sunday morning services and attended regularly.

Carol died on February 3, 2024, her eighty-first birthday, at Hospice House of Kansas City from pancreatic cancer. Her husband was by her bedside.

Carol was preceded in death by both of her parents and her brother Jerry.

She is survived by her husband Rodney, son Steve and his wife Kimberly, grandsons Andy and Indigo, sister Penny and her husband Ken, sisters-in-law Bev Garfield, Janet Harsin, Trudy Rudow, and husband Fritz, Deb Carlson and husband Clay, brother-in-law LD Harsin and wife Marilyn. She is also survived by six nephews and three nieces and their spouses and by six great nephews and one great niece, and cousin Vicki Rittenhouse and husband Dennis.

A memorial service will be held for Carol on Saturday, March 2, 2024, at 2;00 PM, at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 4501 Walnut St. Kansas City, Missouri, 64111. The service will be live-streamed and archived on the All Souls website at allsoulskc.org . It can also be accessed by going to YouTube and searching on All Souls Unitarian Church Kansas City.

For those wishing to do so, contributions in Carol's memory are suggested to be given to a program serving hot meals to the homeless which is supported by All Souls. Checks can be written to All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, with "Hunger Outreach" in the subject line. The church phone is (816) 531-2131, and the web address is https://allsoulskc.org .