Carolyn Waters Bush

Carolyn Waters Bush, 72, passed away on July 16, 2021 at Transitions Life Care Center after a lengthy battle with Alzheimers. A native of North Carolina, she was the daughter of the late William Oscar and Mary Franklin Waters. Carolyn was born on September 19, 1948 in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Her family relocated to Garner and she attended Garner High School from 1962-1964 before moving to Wiesbaden, Germany while her father was in the armed forces. After graduating from H.H. Arnold High School in Wiesbaden, she met her future husband, Patrick, and they were married on February 11, 1968 in Orlando, Florida. Pat and Carolyn returned to Garner in September 1970 and Carolyn was a stay-at-home mom for many years before going back to work full-time at the Garner Senior Center in the early 1990s. She then began a career in mortgage banking at Wachovia before retiring as an Assistant Vice President in 2005. Upon retirement, she worked part-time for the State Crime Laboratory in their DNA database section from 2008-2011. Carolyn enjoyed many years of traveling with her best friend, Laura A. Hall, who passed away in January 2004. She was an avid gardener and enjoyed writing as one of her many hobbies. She wrote a column for the Garner Citizen entitled, “Something to Think About”. She is survived by her husband of 53 years, Patrick Bush of Raleigh; her daughter, Kimberly Woodard (Dedrick) of Angier; brother, Jackie Waters of Garner; her niece, Christina Sawyer (Mike) of Garner; her nephew, Brian Waters (Sayumi) of Onojo, Fukuoka, Japan; her sister-in-law, Topper Bush of Hawthorne, California; brother-in-law, Peter Bush (Evelyn) of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; along with several special aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her loving grandchildren, Charlotte and Hayes, who fondly referred to her as their “CiCi”. Those who knew Carolyn also knew her immense love for her beloved schnoodle, Abby. In addition to her parents, Carolyn is also preceded in death by her sister-in-law, Tokiko Waters; her brother-in-law, Kenneth Bush and her parents-in-law, Charles and Clara Jones. The family wishes to extend a heartfelt thank you to the staff of Cadence Assisted Living Center and Transitions Hospice House for the care, comfort and kindness they extended to Carolyn throughout her stay at both facilities. A funeral service will be held on Wednesday, July 21st at 2:00 pm at the Bryan Lee Funeral Home Chapel in Garner. Burial will follow at Montlawn Memorial Park, Raleigh. A visitation will be held the evening prior on Tuesday, July 20th at Bryan Lee Funeral Home from 6:00 pm-8:00 pm.