Carole Johnson Estes

Carole Estes, a pioneer among African-American women, died on October 12, 2010. Carole was born into the segregated world of Miami, FL in 1938 but she knew she wanted more. To that end, she joined the Air Force and became one of the first women to learn about computer systems in the late 1950's. Later on she was approached by the NAACP to integrate the offices of JByrons, a prominent Miami department store. She was a programmer at JByrons and Eastern Airlines before earning her Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and an MBA from the University of Miami.She went on to work for Ryder where she rose to the executive ranks to serve as Director of the Information Systems Department. She then moved to California where she served as the Director of Information Systems for the District Attorney's Office in Orange County, California.Upon retirement, Carole joined her daughter in Plymouth, NH and quickly became a committed citizen to the NH community. She served one term as State Representative for Plymouth and Hebron, during which she spoke passionately about the importance of laws treating everyone equally as it applied to gay rights from the perspective of someone who endured Jim Crow. After her term in Concord, she served on the executive board of Communities for Alcohol and Drug Free Youth (CADY) and helped the Starr King Unitarian Universalist Fellowship conduct a capital campaign and hospitality every Sunday.She will be dearly missed by her family in Miami, FL, and Plymouth, NH. In Miami, she is survived by her sister, Glynne Daniels, niece, Tara Daniels, and nephew, Kevin Daniels. In Plymouth, NH, she is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Allison and Daryl Browne, and three grandsons, Jordan, Alexander, and Orion.Service:A memorial service will be held Saturday, October 16, 2010, at 2:00 pm, in the Starr King Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Fairgrounds Road, Plymouth.