Share Your Memories: Carolyn “Carrie” Johns
Dear Laurentian Community,
I write today to share the sad news that Carolyn “Carrie” Johns, Professor Emerita of Environmental Studies, died on December 4, 2024. Carrie was a beloved member of our faculty, whose dedication to teaching, research, and the environment left an indelible mark on the St. Lawrence University community.
The daughter of Allan and Anne Johns, Carrie was born on January 1, 1954, in Holden, Massachusetts, and attended Colby College before earning her Ph.D. in botany from the University of Montana. Carrie joined the St. Lawrence Environmental Studies department in 1988, bringing with her a wealth of expertise and passion. Over the course of her career, she taught courses on a wide array of subjects including air pollution, aquatic ecosystems, green backlash, sustainable agriculture, and eco-fibers. She also taught in the First-Year Program and First-Year Seminar, co-taught the Adirondack-Appalachia summer program, chaired the department for many years, and was named the Grace J. Fippinger Professor of Sciences.
Carrie greatly enjoyed her research, which focused on heavy metals in zebra and quagga mussels of the St. Lawrence River. She published academic articles and traveled broadly to present her findings, and she retired as professor emerita from St. Lawrence in 2018.
Beyond her academic contributions, Carrie was known as a hardworking, quiet, kind, and generous spirit. She lived in Waddington where she found pleasure in gardening, raising sheep, and renovating her historic stone house built in the early 1800s. She often traveled to Silver Bay on Lake George, the retirement home of her parents and a place of joyful childhood memories. She loved science fiction, mysteries, and making yarn from the sheep she raised. She also enjoyed helping out at the Kent Family Farm when she could during the summer months.
Carrie is survived by a brother, Allan Johns Jr. of Putnam Station, New York, her niece Aryn Barreiro of Fayetteville, North Carolina, nephew Nate Johns of LaGrange, Illinois, and their families. A memorial service is planned for spring.
Please join us in celebrating Carrie’s life by sharing your memories of her on the St. Lawrence University website. You can read the remembrances of others here.
Sincerely,
Kate Morris