Carol Jane Malone passed away peacefully after a long illness on May 24, 2022 in the loving arms of her life partner and best friend of over 50 years, Robert L. Combs. Carol was born on February 11 in Baltimore, Maryland, the second of three children. Carol graduated from the Institute of Notre Dame in 1965 and continued her studies at Notre Dame Of Maryland, graduating in 1969 after which attended the University of South Carolina, where she studied with the poet James Dickey and earned her master's degree in English. She later attended Loyola University of Maryland earning a master's degree in psychology.
Carol was completely devoted to her family and partner, Bob Combs. Bob and Carol met while at the University of South Carolina and moved to Baltimore after graduation. Together they traveled to Europe, making several trips to Ireland to study at the Synge School. Their homes were filled with music, laughter, poetry, and literature. Carol was an excellent cook and loved to host dinners. An evening with Carol and Bob was sure to be full of music, book discussions, and laughter. Her family, a close-knit clan from west Baltimore, was an integral part of her life, most especially her cousin Mary Jo and lifelong friend Valerie Klosek. To her nieces, cousins, great-nieces and nephews, Carol was a doting and loving aunt and cousin, always ready with a story to tell. They loved to snuggle up and listen while she recounted a favorite memory from her childhood in west Baltimore. Her niece Keegan summed it up well, "She was like a best friend who I would have sleepovers with on Friday nights and she was my wise aunt from whom I learned a lot." A sentiment shared by all who called her aunt. Carol had the exceptional gift of making each person she loved feel extraordinary. She loved hard and she loved completely.

Carol was an avid reader with a brilliant mind and a gift for teaching. It all began when she was very young. She recalled, "My father made the biggest event of my childhood the night we went to get my library card. He said, 'You'll never own anything that's going to be more valuable to you.' " Carol went on to spend 34 years teaching at Maryvale Preparatory School where she mentored generations of young women introducing them to Shakespeare, Irish poets and authors, fostering a love for literature, and the skills to be excellent writers. She once said, "I believe that literature, carefully studied, leads to open-mindedness, compassion, joy and, yes, the love of God." One of her favorite sayings, in response to a student who didn't like what they were reading was to encourage them to say instead, "I am not ready to appreciate it." In 2013, she was awarded the Teaching Excellence Award by the Baltimore Archdiocese, one of many accolades over her long teaching career. Upon her retirement from Maryvale, five alumnae, Stacey Jackson `81, Laura Nolan `02, Kate Nolan Bryden `00, Carol Townsend Jones `80 and Kathleen Birrane `77, honored her with lead gifts to establish the Carol Malone Excellence in Teaching Endowment. Over the course of a career that began in 1971, Carol has remained woven into the fabric of her students' lives—attending their weddings, their children's weddings, college graduations, baby showers, helping them with college papers and books. They brought meaning to her life and she to theirs.

Joseph Campbell, whom Carol admired, said, "We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us. Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain. Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls." Carol found joy in Bob, her family, students, friends, and literature. She spent decades battling the pain of rheumatoid arthritis, accepting the life that was waiting for her and opening doors. She will be deeply missed by all who love her.
Carol was a resident of Kent Island and Relay for the past 35 years. She is survived by Robert Combs, her sister Dorothy Kolakowski (nee Malone), her brother Patrick Malone, her three loving nieces Maura Taylor (Mike), Bethany DeLude (Mike), and Cara Kolakowski-Jacobs (Chris), her great nieces Elizabeth Yuhasz (Alex), Monica Salters, Keegan Taylor, Rory and Harper Jacobs, and her great-nephews Michael DeLude (Meghan) and Coleman DeLude, and many dear cousins and friends. She is predeceased by her great-great nephew Brennan Doll, her parents Doris (Curley) and Henry Malone. The family will receive friends on Friday, May 27th, 2022, from 2-4pm and 6-8pm at Hubbard Funeral Home, Inc. 4107 WIlkens Avenue, Baltimore, MD, 21229. A celebration of her amazing life will take place at St. Benedict's Catholic Church 2612 Wilkens Avenue Baltimore, MD 21223, on Saturday May 28th, 2022, at 11am. Interment will immediately follow the service at Meadowridge Memorial Park.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Carol Malone Excellence in Teaching Endowment Fund at Maryvale Preparatory School, 11300 Falls Road, Lutherville, MD 21093.