Carolyn Cain

Carolyn Liesegang was born in Huntington, Long Island to Robert and Bernice Liesegang, the sixth in a family of eight. She excelled in her schooling and after graduating Huntington High School earned a merit scholarship to Vassar College.

After graduation, Carolyn vacationed inHawaii and fell in love with the island life. She went on to earn a Master of Business Administration from the University of Hawaii. While attending school, she worked as a graduate assistant, introducing her to the newly emerging field of travel industry management that would continue to be a passion for the rest of her life. Her intellect, excellent writing ability and work ethic were easily evident and, following her completed MBA, she was hired to write the foundational textbooks for the university tourism programs that proliferated in the 1990’s. She literally ‘wrote the book’ on tourism.

She and her former husband, Charles Cain, married in 1983 and had two children, Jessica (Rocha) and Matthew. As a young mother, she traveled throughout Asia to expand her knowledge of the tourism industry. This knowledge served as the foundation for her entire career.

While she fully embraced the Hawaiian culture, her desire to ensure her children had a strong educational foundation as well as a desire to be closer to her large extended family prompted her to return to the mainland. Her career continued in Washington, D.C., where she found her dream job as a Tourism Specialist at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a division of the World Bank. Her work at IFC provided an endless array of developing countries to visit and improve as well as the opportunity to make friends around the world. She later taught tourism symposiums during her annual trips back to Hawaii.

An avid traveler, Carolyn spent much of her professional and personal life exploring the world. Having visited over 110 (mostly undeveloped) countries during her 25-year career at IFC, she shifted to pleasure travel upon retirement. Over the years, she enjoyed a number of vacations with immediate and extended family as well as frequent trips with her Vassar sisters.Always cheerful, social, energetic and accommodating, she was an excellent travel partner with her sharp mind, quick wit, great appetite and interest in ethnic food and drink.

As much as she enjoyed travel, her heart was always at home where she was a devoted mother and grandmother. Her greatest joy in retirement was spending time with her children, both in the Washington area, and her grand-daughter Scarlett. With her large close extended family there were many gatherings over the years, always culminating in a group sing (off-key) and dance (sort of) to “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond.

Carolyn was a teacher, lifelong learner and world traveler. As a free spirit, she embraced life with passion and lived life to the fullest. Her funny, happy, and fun-loving personality was contagious; she was everyone’s best friend. However, she was nobody’s fool. She remained skeptical, critical, outspoken, and opinionated about any injustices, especially in the political realm. Because she was so intelligent and well read, you usually lost any argument.

With this unexpected and profound loss, she is survived by her children, Jessica and Matthew, her granddaughter Scarlett and her 7 siblings Robert, Thomas, Roger, Marilyn, Jocelyn, Richard (Skip), and Jacquelyn.

Carolyn passed away suddenly but peacefully at home on February 21, 2021. A virtual funeral service will be held at Cunningham Turch Funeral Home on Friday, March 5, 2021 at 3:00 PM. A larger celebration of her life will be held at a later date.