Carolyn Shumway
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Carolyn Merrill Shumway was born into the musical family of Douglas and Regina Merrill of Salt Lake City, Utah.
At 17, she was group leader for a Colorado River expedition, and at 19 was in the Brigham Young University A Cappella choir and the Tabernacle Choir. She served an LDS Southern States mission, and married her Arizona pen pal, Eric Shumway.
Eric was soon hired at BYU-Hawaii, so in 1966 they moved to Laie, where Carolyn later graduated from BYU-Hawaii with a degree in Elementary Education. An entire student body now refers to Carolyn as "Mom" as well as her seven children and twenty grandchildren. Others calling her "mom" were 1,000 missionaries in Tonga when Eric was president from 1986 to 1989, and the 25 teenagers who have lived with the Shumways through the years. Carolyn also became "Mom" to thousands of children in six schools, where she taught music part time.
Carolyn was named American National Mother of the Year for 1996-97.
Carolyn was a recipient of the BYU-Hawaii Women's Award and a Fine Arts award. At their local prison, her family helped pioneer the "Adopt an Inmate" program. Carolyn has held many responsible positions in church and education, but God and family have always come first, their motto being, "Pulling together we can work it out."