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Caroline Newberger Canafax ’42

Caroline Newberger Canafax ’42, April 23, 2011, in Seattle, Washington. Caroline attended Reed for two years before transferring to the University of Washington, where she earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in special education. Caroline taught in elementary schools in Seattle and at Head Start. During the Vietnam War, she joined the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and traveled on behalf of the league “to get out the word to end war.” Her opposition to war began when she saw photos of the World War I dead, she said, and, from the standpoint of a teacher she also saw social needs going unmet as defense spending rose. Caroline founded the WILPF publication Pacific Vision in 1982 and served as league international vice president. “Women have been the prime nurturers, and therefore they are really oriented to life and the human race,” she wrote. She marched in peace rallies and protests, sang with the Raging Grannies, and dedicated her life to promoting democracy, women’s rights, and organized representation for labor. She also found time for hiking and agate collecting. Her passion for opera and chamber music grew out of the hours she spent listening to classical music in the Capehart room in Winch. Caroline married Leo Canafax in 1947; he died in 2010. Survivors include a son and daughter, four granddaughters, and a sister.

Appeared in Reed magazine: December 2011

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