The Heavenly Host gained a wonderful soprano voice this week.
That voice belongs to Caroline Dees, who has also been widely known to light up a room with her distinctive laugh. Caroline spent her entire teaching career at WVWC, mentoring and inspiring generations of students from 1969-2006. For 37 years, she shared her wit, humor, and joy of music. And always with a smile.
She also had a love of libraries which started way back in her high school days in in Atlanta, where she was a member of the North Fulton High School Main Library Staff. This love continued throughout her life as she received her MLIS from the University of South Carolina through a distance education program in 1995. She put those skills to good use in the Music Library in Loar Hall.
There are too many stories to even know where to begin. Stories of voice lessons, traveling to far-off places to share music together, and of Caroline singing at the weddings of her students and friends.
For the purpose of this writing, I would like to focus on one event that stands out in the minds of many. Caroline’s role as Satan in The Descent into Hell, which the college commissioned for the celebration of its 90th birthday. It took place in Wesley Chapel on Thursday, October 16, 1980 at 8:30 pm.
The full program for the evening is available here.
This list of musicians represents a multitude of Wesleyan’s finest students and choir alumni who had gathered for this special occasion. I am sure that rehearsals were an amazing amount of fun.
I am sure each of them could tell stories of how Caroline Dees was part of their journey, and I hope that many will click on this link and share them. As they are shared, you can click here and watch the story of the impact of Caroline’s life.
Larry Parsons shared this message on Facebook, and is a beautiful blessing and benediction. It speaks so much about their work together through the years.
In paradisum deducant te angeli: May the angels lead you into paradise.
The Thoughts and Memories collection was started in Spring 2021 in order to give faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of the college a place to share their stories of people, buildings, events, groups (or other!) from their time at WVWC. Although many do so on Facebook and other platforms, those are not saved in this more permanent way. Here is a link to the full collection.
You can submit your thoughts and memories about Caroline (and about other people as well) by clicking here. And, you can even add photos if you like!
Update: November 8, 2021
A beautiful Service of Celebration was held in Wesley Chapel on November 6, 2021. As part of that service, a Reader’s Theater Monologue was presented by Jane Weimer Godwin (1976), Sarah Carr Parsons (1982), Don Gardner (1977), and Dave Carson (1974).
Link to the Livestream of the Service (note: this is on the WVWC webpage, and I am not sure how long it will be there)
How Caroline became the “Devil.” Several of the composers I worked with tried to use gender neutral language. When I asked Dan Pinkham about it he said it was an ancient text and he would leave it as is. Days later I received a phone call from him with the proposal that we make the devil a woman’s role. I ran the suggestion by Caroline, and of course she loved the idea!!