Carol L. Washburne, born in St. Louis September 16, 1925 to Albert and Marie Ludwig, died in the home of her daughter, Shelley Washburne Masar, in Urbana, Illinois on April 15, 2016. She married Norman Foster Washburne in 1947. They divorced in 1954. Educated in Art and Art History at The University of Missouri and Washington University, and earning an MA in Organizational Psychology at Southern Illinois University, Carol was an educator and editor with long experience on the cutting edge of inclusivity

In 1948 she taught at the Woodmere Academy on Long Island. She worked with teens in the YWCA in Seattle Washington, taught Art and Children's classes at the People's Art Center in St. Louis, Journalism and English in Arkansas High Schools, and Reading and English in St. Louis Middle Schools before moving into Textbook Publishing. From 1963-76 she was the Sponsoring Editor for Webster Publishing Company in Manchester Missouri where she initiated and directed their early urban interracial primers (i.e., In Carol's eyes Sally and Dick might not always be white and they might live in apartments). She was the Webster Division editor for Themes and Writers anthologies for which she assembled Art Galleries that she curated from the world's great museums. In 1977 she taught sessions on Sexism in Textbooks at Colorado College. When Webster was purchased by McGraw Hill Carol moved to New York City where she was Senior Editor for Elementary Language Arts. She came back to the Midwest in 1982 to be of assistance to an aging mother and aunt, and to participate in her children's families, working for McKnight Publishing Company and Milliken Publishing Company. She spent seven post-retirement years heading the Resource Center of the St Louis Art Museum.

In later decades she traveled the world taking photographs and visiting the world's major art collections. She loved her grand children, photographed them fulsomely, wrote poetry, gardened and organized her friends into writing groups.

Carol's poetry was published and performed, but she was especially delighted to be commissioned to write a poem by her friend the Coretta Scot King award winning writer Pat McKissack of Chesterfield, Missouri, for Pat's book on African-American pilots of the 99th Squadron of the Army Air Force.

In 2012 Carol moved to Urbana to be close to her daughter Shelley. Carol will be missed by Shelley, her son Ted Washburne of Tempe, Arizona, and grandchildren, Sarah Washburne Horton of Mesa, Arizona, Seredy Masar Williams and Tyson Masar of Chicago, Illinois, Ella Masar McLeod of MalmA