Carolyn Lucy Thrift Dillard passed away on Monday, August 24, 2026, in Rome Georgia. Carolyn was born December 3, 1938 to Pat and Eloise Thrift on their farm in the Evergreen community. Although she was an only child, she was blessed with numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins living nearby to play with and learn from. At the age of six, Carolyn became a residential student at the Georgia Academy for the Blind in Macon. While there, she met lifelong friend Gerry Ricks who she loved as a sister. Although she received a good education, she deeply missed her family and friends at home.

After graduation from the academy, Carolyn completed a bachelor’s degree in teacher education at Valdosta State University where she met her husband Philip Dillard in a Spanish class. Carolyn continued her studies at Peabody College in Nashville, Tennessee, earning her masters’ degree in History and later a second masters’ degree from Florida State University in Special Education. Her first professional position was as a home teacher for blind children in Talladega, Alabama. Philip and Carolyn married in 1962. After starting a family, Carolyn taught blind and visually impaired students in the Rome, Polk County, and Haralson County school systems for almost three decades.

Carolyn lived her faith by helping others. She volunteered with the Talking Book library in Rome, the Pilot Club of Cedar Valley, the Cedartown High School Band Parents, and the Rome First Church of the Nazarene where she and Philip were members for decades. Into her final years, Carolyn volunteered extensively with the Georgia Council of the Blind and continued to give presentations about Braille in the community.

Carolyn was patient, generous, and kind, and she tried to help everyone around her to be happy. She inherited her love of reading and calm demeanor from her father. These traits allowed her to wrangle three rambunctious children and countless students without losing her patience. She inherited her love of Coca-Cola, sweet tea, and delicious treats from her mother. Every time we visited, we were met with a cake, a pie, or chewy bread. Her children have tried to make her scrumptious buttery biscuits but still haven't made them just like hers. All her favorite memories centered on her parents, the farm, and her children and grandchildren.

Carolyn is survived by her three children, David Dillard (Peggy), Joe Dillard (Becky), and Miriam Dillard (Dave Baldwin), four grandchildren, Rachel Smith (Dustin), Tom Dillard (Kirstie), Walt Dillard, David Baldwin (Grace), and two great-granddaughters, Tessa Belle Budd and Clara Jay Dillard. She is predeceased by her husband of over 62 years, Philip Dillard.