Biography: Carolyn Becker Winburn, age 89, of Little Rock, passed away on January 30, 2024 at her home. Carolyn was born on January 3, 1935 in Little Rock. She was the eldest daughter of Aubrey Umstead Becker and Russell Paul Becker. Her family moved to Camden, Arkansas after her father was drafted into the United States Army during World War II. She attended public schools in Camden through the tenth grade and graduated high school from Gulf Park Women’s College in Gulfport, Mississippi. She attended Randolph Macon Women’s College in Lynchburg, Virginia and graduated with a degree in chemistry. She married Hardy L. Winburn IV in 1955, a month after her college graduation. They lived in Louisiana for a short period of time while Hardy served in the army and then moved to Little Rock where they built their life together.

Carolyn was active in the Little Rock community. She was a member of PEO, The Junior League of Little Rock, The Opera Club, The Scattered Seeds Garden Club, The Aesthetic Club and Grand Maumelle Sailing Club. She was also an active member of Second Presbyterian Church where she sang in the choir and served on the Pastoral Care Committee.
After raising their four children, Carolyn and Hardy spent time sailing, primarily along the coastal waters of Florida and the Caribbean. Carolyn spent most of her summers in a cabin in Evergreen, Colorado that her grandmother built in the late 1930’s. She loved the mountains, horseback riding, hiking and spending time with friends and family in the cooler Colorado climate. Rock Cliff was her home away from home.

Carolyn had a keen interest in other cultures and loved to travel. She believed that exposure to other customs, traditions and races was an important part of understanding people. Among the places she visited were Egypt, Russia, Thailand, Nepal, The Galapagos Islands, Peru, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico and most of Europe. Carolyn was a voracious reader and always studied the countries that she planned to visit. She enjoyed sharing her experiences and often observed that people are more alike than they are different.

Carolyn loved dogs and owned many throughout her life, including rescues. When her last child left for college, her son Hardy bought her a Welsh Corgi puppy. She named him Jeeves after the butler in the P.G. Wodehouse novels, and Jeeves was a constant companion. For the next thirty years, she owned, raised, and sometimes bred Corgis, occasionally confounding her neighbors on Hawthorne by letting the dogs wander in the morning.    

Carolyn also loved music—particularly opera—and enjoyed listening to live performances that were broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in New York City. She supported the Chamber Music Society of Little Rock and for many years regularly attended their concerts.

Carolyn is preceded in death by her husband, Hardy Lathan Winburn IV, and her sister Betty Becker Walt. She is survived by her children Hardy Lathan Winburn V (Jennifer), Mary Carolyn Winburn Wilson (Rob), Russell Becker Winburn (Laura) and Jack Carnes Winburn;  her grandchildren Melody Wilson Shobe (Casey), Carolyn Elizabeth Wilson (Kevin), Ashley Wilson Barlow, Brock Alan Cooper (Kim), Hardy Lathan Winburn VI, Kaitlin Hope Winburn, and Sydney Anne Winburn; and eleven great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her three nephews and two nieces—Sara Delaney Phillips, Laura Delaney Oxman, James Riggs Walt, Richard Paul Walt and David Matthews Walt.

A memorial service celebrating Carolyn’s life will he held on February 19, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. at Second Presbyterian Church in Little Rock with a lunch reception to follow at the church.

The family would like to thank Charlotte’s Home Care, LLC, Charlotte Butler-Rice, Tina Roberson, Chevoneda Robinson, Myeisha Hussey, Patricia Mills and Felicia Butler for providing excellent care for our mother over the last year and a half.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Second Presbyterian Church or The Humane Society of Pulaski County. Arrangements are under the direction of RuebelFuneralHome.com