Olene Elizabeth Carroll
October 8, 1941 — November 7, 2022
Olene Elizabeth (Wood) Carroll, 81, of West Palm Beach, FL, passed away Monday, November 7, 2022. Full of joy and light, a loving wife, mother, sister, and friend to so many, Olene was deserving of the blessing, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
Olene was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on October 8, 1941. She moved to the U.S. with her family when she was 11 years old. They settled in West Palm Beach, FL, where she attended Central Junior High School, and Palm Beach High School (Class of 1959). At PBHS, Olene was in the Latin club, inducted into the Honor Society, and met her sweetheart, Paul Carroll.
An education major at Florida State University, Olene was a member of the Christian Science Organization and Alpha Omicron Pi. She received a B.S. in the spring of 1963, and married Paul in the fall.
In 1976, Olene and Paul relocated with their two daughters to Rome, Italy, and then Athens, Greece. In both countries, Olene happily wore out her Blue Guides with visiting friends and family. The family returned to West Palm Beach in 1982, and the couple partnered with Paul’s father, Clyde Carroll to operate Furniture Renewal Service.
Olene maintained a love for the Bible and Christian Science her entire life. As a child in Canada, she read to her blind grandfather, Joseph H. Wood, from Schaff’s Bible Dictionary (ed. 1880), and grew up to become a self-taught Bible researcher, author, speaker and tour leader. In the 1980s, Olene began a weekly newsletter, The Diggings, referencing up to 800 biblical research books from her home library.
In 1991, Olene joined a holy land tour led by Nancy Fischer, who became her future co-author and business partner. Carroll-Fischer Biblical Travels led groups of people through Israel, Jordan, Greece, Turkey, and Egypt. Olene gave talks and seminars across the U.S. and in Geneva, Switzerland on the Bible, and in California, led a Bible study group and hosted vacation Bible school.
Olene authored Holy Land Tours on BibleWise.com and several journal articles for The Christian Science Publishing Society; also with the CSPS, she co-authored four children’s books, and created educational materials on the Ten Commandments and Eight Beatitudes.
To be closer to their grandchildren, Olene and Paul moved from Wellington, FL, to Clayton, CA, in 2003; and finally returned to their hometown, West Palm Beach, FL, in 2018.
Olene was predeceased by her parents, Anna Winnifred (Penton) Wood Cummings and Hubert John “Jack” Wood, sister, Joanne (Wood) Evans, and niece, Jennifer Leigh Evans.
Survivors include her husband, Paul Gates Carroll; daughters, Wendy Kathleen (Carroll) Herman Spencer and Amy Christine Carroll; grandchildren, Matthew Jordan Herman and Emma Francine Herman; brother, James McBean Wood; nieces, Ericka Anne (Evans) Craig and Megan Nicole Wood; and many more brothers- and sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Condolences may be addressed to the Carroll Family c/o P.O. Box 20112, West Palm Beach, FL 33416-0112. A service will be held on Wednesday March 8, 2023 at 10:00 AM at the South Florida National Cemetery in Lake Worth, FL. Cars for this service should make a note to queue and park in "Lane 5". In lieu of flowers, the family suggests sending a charitable donation in Olene’s memory to the National Fund for Christian Science Nursing, a restricted fund operated by The Principle Foundation, via nfcsn.org/donate.
Olene was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on October 8, 1941. She moved to the U.S. with her family when she was 11 years old. They settled in West Palm Beach, FL, where she attended Central Junior High School, and Palm Beach High School (Class of 1959). At PBHS, Olene was in the Latin club, inducted into the Honor Society, and met her sweetheart, Paul Carroll.
An education major at Florida State University, Olene was a member of the Christian Science Organization and Alpha Omicron Pi. She received a B.S. in the spring of 1963, and married Paul in the fall.
In 1976, Olene and Paul relocated with their two daughters to Rome, Italy, and then Athens, Greece. In both countries, Olene happily wore out her Blue Guides with visiting friends and family. The family returned to West Palm Beach in 1982, and the couple partnered with Paul’s father, Clyde Carroll to operate Furniture Renewal Service.
Olene maintained a love for the Bible and Christian Science her entire life. As a child in Canada, she read to her blind grandfather, Joseph H. Wood, from Schaff’s Bible Dictionary (ed. 1880), and grew up to become a self-taught Bible researcher, author, speaker and tour leader. In the 1980s, Olene began a weekly newsletter, The Diggings, referencing up to 800 biblical research books from her home library.
In 1991, Olene joined a holy land tour led by Nancy Fischer, who became her future co-author and business partner. Carroll-Fischer Biblical Travels led groups of people through Israel, Jordan, Greece, Turkey, and Egypt. Olene gave talks and seminars across the U.S. and in Geneva, Switzerland on the Bible, and in California, led a Bible study group and hosted vacation Bible school.
Olene authored Holy Land Tours on BibleWise.com and several journal articles for The Christian Science Publishing Society; also with the CSPS, she co-authored four children’s books, and created educational materials on the Ten Commandments and Eight Beatitudes.
To be closer to their grandchildren, Olene and Paul moved from Wellington, FL, to Clayton, CA, in 2003; and finally returned to their hometown, West Palm Beach, FL, in 2018.
Olene was predeceased by her parents, Anna Winnifred (Penton) Wood Cummings and Hubert John “Jack” Wood, sister, Joanne (Wood) Evans, and niece, Jennifer Leigh Evans.
Survivors include her husband, Paul Gates Carroll; daughters, Wendy Kathleen (Carroll) Herman Spencer and Amy Christine Carroll; grandchildren, Matthew Jordan Herman and Emma Francine Herman; brother, James McBean Wood; nieces, Ericka Anne (Evans) Craig and Megan Nicole Wood; and many more brothers- and sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Condolences may be addressed to the Carroll Family c/o P.O. Box 20112, West Palm Beach, FL 33416-0112. A service will be held on Wednesday March 8, 2023 at 10:00 AM at the South Florida National Cemetery in Lake Worth, FL. Cars for this service should make a note to queue and park in "Lane 5". In lieu of flowers, the family suggests sending a charitable donation in Olene’s memory to the National Fund for Christian Science Nursing, a restricted fund operated by The Principle Foundation, via nfcsn.org/donate.
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