Carol Mae Vreeland

Carol Mae Vreeland (nee Decker), age 81 of Kinnelon, NJ, died on Thursday August 6, 2020. She had lived in Kinnelon since the 1960s.

Carol grew up in Wayne, NJ with her parents Robert and Relda Decker, and her younger sister Janice, in their home near the Pompton Falls. She graduated from Wayne High School, and went on to earn her teaching certificate from the William Paterson Teacher's College in Wayne. Carol loved her job teaching for several years at the Immaculate Conception School in Mahwah.

Carol was very active in her hometown of Kinnelon and she dedicated countless volunteer hours to protecting the natural beauty of the area for future generations. She served on the Environmental Commission of Kinnelon, the Open Space Advisory Committee, Sustainable Jersey, and the Kinnelon "Green Team." She was most proud when her team successfully preserved nearly sixty acres. That land is now protected permanently and will remain as open space forever.

Carol Mae and her husband, Charles met shortly after high school, when they were introduced by mutual friends. . They hit it off from the start and were soon married on March 3, 1962, at Christ Episcopal Church in Pompton Lakes. They honeymooned in Lake Placid, New York and settled in Pompton Lakes. Within a few years they were able to build their family home in Kinnelon, where they raised their two daughters, Christine and Carin.

Carol had a special love for gardening which was handed down to her by her grandmother Nanny. She enjoyed being a homemaker, driving her daughters to dance lessons, playing tennis and swimming at Lake Rickabear in the summers. Carol's greatest joy of all was cooking and baking wonderful family dinners for her children and grandchildren.

Throughout Carol and Chuck's early retirement years, they enjoyed traveling in their RV to places across the United States including The Grand Canyon, Mt. Rushmore, The Badlands, Las Vegas and the Hoover Dam, Acadia National Park in Maine, and Cape Cod. Their marriage of nearly sixty years has been full of love, laughter, and warm memories to be cherished for years to come.  Chuck and his family will miss her dearly, as well as Carol's beloved Brittany Spaniel, Tara.

Carol is survived by her devoted husband Charles of Kinnelon, their two children: Carin Vreeland of Ramsey, NJ and Christine Schneider and her husband Mike of Westbrook, CT; four grandchildren; Michael, Anna and Charlie Schneider of Westbrook, CT, and Nicole Sulikowski of Ramsey, NJ, and one sister: Janice Avolio and her husband Anthony of North Haledon.

For those wishing to make a donation in Carol's memory, please consider the Land Conservancy of New Jersey, 19 Boonton Avenue, Boonton, NJ 07005, web: tlc - nj.org, (973)541-1010.