Carolyn Long Marel
1925 – 2022
Carolyn (Long) Marel was born July 20th, 1925 to Herman Slover and Lettie Edith (Dean) Long, of Agra Oklahoma.
Services will be held Tuesday, January 11th, 2022, at 10:00AM at the Matthews Funeral Home Chapel. Interment is to follow at Osage Cemetery in Agra, Oklahoma at 2:00PM.
A 2009 article in The Oklahoman described her life:
Carolyn Marel is an engaging person. Though she might be small in stature, she is deep in her abiding faith and possesses a sharp wit.
This 84-year-old Edmond resident has published her first book of poetry, 356 pages of inspiration, stories, recollections and thoughts collected over 50-plus years.
“I was encouraged by a friend to save my work,” she said. “I was in my late 30s when I began saving them all.”
Marel, whose parents were born in Indian Territory, was raised on a farm near Agra. She has enjoyed a life that has taken her from coast to coast and around the world.
“My book is a journey through life, of all the things I’ve learned from the time I was 10,” she said.
When she was a 16-year-old, she was given the job of delivering the telegram to the Daugherty family announcing the death of their son Russell, the first Edmond casualty of World War II.
She also recalls with pride the impact her sister Beryl Gossett and her husband, John, had on Edmond. Gossett Park near the University of Central Oklahoma bears his name.
For a time, Marel lived in Australia and was a part of the Pentecostal movement among Catholics in that country. But after her husband left, she had to sail home with their 11-year-old daughter.
She has supported herself as a professional housekeeper, a nanny and a night nurse.
“I hadn’t been to school and had no skills, but God always provided for me,” she said.
It is from these experiences that Marel writes. She said the writing process has been the same as it was when she was 10 years old.
“It starts with a thought that comes out of the blue,” she said. “Taking pen and paper in hand, all I have to work with is the opening line and then the thoughts begin to flow.”
Her daughter, Mary McReynolds of Arcadia, is the author of two published books with two more in the works. She said her mother has been her inspiration.
“I was lucky to have her read to me from infancy on up. Her love of free verse and rhyme inspired me to seek degrees at UCO, a BA in English and an MA in creative studies,” she said. “A maternal muse, my mom encourages me with my own writing. I think of hers as an ageless talent.”
Marel’s book of poetry titled “Come on in to the Valley of True Blue” was published by Xulon Press.
Carolyn is survived by sister, Mrs. Margaret Warren of Gulf Breeze, FL., daughters: Mary McReynolds and her husband JE, Megan Hicks and her husband Jack Abgott and Keun Hicks. As well as grandchildren: Jane Burbach, Sarah Frantz, Toby Sharp, Alice Sharp, 9 great-grandchildren, and 8 great-great-grandchildren.
We will be live streaming this service in an effort to accommodate those people that wish to attend but feel they should not due to health regulations. To watch the service CLICK HERE to go to our YouTube page. Click on ‘Videos’, then ‘Live Streams’.