Carol A. Halliday, 85, of Chestertown, NY passed away peacefully on Friday, July 7, 2023. She battled ovarian cancer with bravery, strength and a fighting spirit for the past 12 years. Born December 2, 1937, in Pittston, PA to Stanley and Jeanne Wywiorski, she was the eldest of their five children. Carol graduated from Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School, Kingston, PA in 1955 and from Flower Fifth Avenue Nursing School, New York Medical College in 1957 with an RN and from the College of St. Rose with a BA in 1977.
In June 1957, she married Thomas C. Halliday, M.D. and began her career at St. Joseph Hospital Syracuse, NY as a floor nurse. In 1960, they moved to Chestertown, NY and she helped to support the family medical practice as a nurse. Shortly thereafter, they started a family, having three daughters, Jane Merritt (b.1960), Susan Carol (b.1962), and Beverly Jean (b.1969).
From 1974 to 1978, she was a school nurse and health educator for North Warren Central School. In 1978, she relocated to Queensbury, NY and continued her career as an industrial occupational nurse for Finch-Pruyn. In 1980, she relocated to Alexandria, Virginia taking a position as an OR nurse with the Washington Hospital Center. After a few years, she learned a new field, urology, and worked at the Urology Department at Georgetown University Hospital.
In 1989, she relocated to Hanover, NH taking on yet another new challenge, oncology, working in the Oncology Department at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. During that time, she enjoyed weekends and holidays at her home on Friends Lake in Chestertown, NY, where she retired in 2002.
She was a stoic, humble woman who paved the way for nurses today. She practiced for over 50 years as a modern-day Florence Nightingale.
After family and medicine, Carol, named for Christmas Carols, and also known to those close to her as Nurse Fuzzy-Wuzz, Sissy, Mom, or Doty, loved spending time with her golden retrievers, playing bridge with her friends, watching the NY Giants win, and taking boat rides on Friends Lake. Some of her favorite pastimes included planning parties and weddings, cooking, baking, hiking, especially in the Adirondacks, and traveling throughout the U.S. and Europe. Carol was athletic. She played field hockey and basketball in high school and was a member of the cheerleading squad. Always open-minded to new activities, she picked up tennis, golf, and skiing later in life. She started the Women’s Golf League at Green Mansions and enjoyed skiing at Gore Mountain. Her passion for the Adirondacks was boundless, and she strove to live each day to its fullest. She often expressed, “Each day is a gift, cherish your time together to laugh and love.”
Carol is survived by her daughters and their spouses, Jane M. Halliday-Randall and John B. Randall of Old Saybrook, Connecticut and Chestertown, New York; Susan C. Halliday and Michael R. Cloutman of Chestertown, New York; Beverly J. Halliday and Nicholas C. Schmid of Carlisle, Massachusetts; a grandson, William M. Randall (Marie A. Abrahams) of Brunswick, Maine; her brother Robert S. Wywiorski, OD, and his wife, Barbara M. Yanak, OD, of Towanda, Pennsylvania; her sister Gail L. Malloy of Duryea, Pennsylvania and nephew Alex M. Malloy of New York City; her sister Beth C. Persun and husband, Andrew M. Persun, of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, nieces Laura J. Persun (August Gerhardt) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Christine G. Persun of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania; and sister-in-law, Roberta A. Wywiorski of Scranton, Pennsylvania. She is predeceased by her brother Chris M. Wywiorski, formerly of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and her grandson, John T. Randall, formerly of Old Saybrook, Connecticut.
Carol’s family wishes to express heartfelt thank you to Kate O’Keeffe, MD of Women’s Care in Obstetrics and Gynecology of Glens Falls, Patrick Timmons, MD, and staff of St. Peter’s Women Cancer Center of Albany, and Dan Larson, MD, and Paul Bachman, MD of Hudson Headwaters, Ben Taylor, MD, Cancer Wood Center of Glens Falls, and High Peaks Hospice Staff, as well as all staff at the Glens Falls Hospital in Tower4 and Tower2.
A memorial and celebration of her life will take place at 11:00 am on Friday, July 21, 2023, at the Chestertown Community United Methodist Church, 11 Church Street, Chestertown, New York. Interment in the Chestertown Rural Cemetery (Leggett Cemetery) will follow the service. In lieu of flowers, donations in Carol’s memory may be made to one of Carol’s favorite non-profits, which include SPCA of Upstate New York, High Peaks Hospice, Glens Falls Hospital Foundation, St. Jude’s Children's Research Hospital and St. Peter’s Hospital Foundation; givetostpeters.org or a charity of your choice. Her last wish would be to perform or even witness an act of unconditional love, and simply think of her and smile.
Arrangements are entrusted to Barton-McDermott Funeral Home, Inc. 9 Pine St. Chestertown, NY 12817
