Obituary of Carolyn Reyer

Carolyn M. Reyer, 90, of Morgantown, rejoined her husband, father, mother and granddaughter in Heaven on September 24th, 2009. She passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family and friends after a long illness.Mrs. Reyer was born on June 15, 1919, a daughter of the late Philip and Muriel Murray. Mrs. Reyer received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Holyoke College in 1941. She attended Yale University School of Music, Cornell University and The Creative Arts Center at West Virginia University as a graduate student in music and voice. Mrs. Reyer, a mezzo-soprano, carved a special place as one of the countryâs outstanding interpreters of contemporary American Song. During her singing career, she made numerous appearances on college campuses in a special program of American Songs, âI hear America Singing,â which traced the development of song from colonial times to the folk-jazz era. A long time lover of horses, Mrs. Reyer established the Monongalia Riding for the Handicapped program in 1980. During her riding years, she owned a quarter horse named Joey and an Arabian mare, Nazraf Dream Mist.In 1981, after retiring from her singing career, Mrs. Reyer started teaching at West Virginia University beginning with a series of short courses about Native American history and culture. In 1991, she developed the universityâs first Native America literature course and founded the Native American Studies program. She is the author of. Cante Ohitika Win (Bravehearted Women): Images of Lakota women from the Pine Ridge Reservation, and edited An Indian in White America (an autobiography of Mark Monroe). She wrote these books to raise public awareness and appreciation for our Native American heritage. She felt that there is much we can learn from Native Americans about reverence for the land, the importance of family and community, and sharing and caring for one another. She felt that we are all part of the web of life in the creatorâs sacred universe. She received the Neil S. Bucklew Award for Social Justice from West Virginia University in 2004 for helping establish the Native American Studies Program.Mrs. Reyer is survived by her daughter Elizabeth Moore and her partner, Robert Embry, her daughter, Mary Westfall and her husband, Gary, four grandchildren, Sara Heine and her husband, Craig, Rachel Westfall, Daniel Westfall and Philip Moore, and two great-granddaughters Megan and Keira Heine. In addition to her parents, her husband Randall Reyer and her granddaughter, Cassandra Moore, preceded Mrs. Reyer in death.Hastings Funeral Home, 153 Spruce Street, Morgantown, is providing Cremation services.Visitation will be held in the parlor at the First Presbyterian Church in Morgantown from 6-7 PM Tuesday, September 29th. memorial service will immediately follow at 7 PM with the Rev. John Sonnenday and the Rev. Kris Haig officiating. Following Mrs. Reyerâs wishes, interment will follow at a later date in the family plot at Ferncliff Cemetery, Hartsdale, NY. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Mrs. Reyerâs memory may be made to one of the following charities: Riding for the Handicapped, Uniontown, PA, The Bread for the World Organization, in care of the First Presbyterian Church, 456 Spruce Street, Morgantown, WV 26505, Monongalia County Habitat for Humanity, 293 Willey Street, Morgantown, WV, 26505. Send condolences online: www.hastingsfuneralhome.com