Carolyn Ruth (Sadler) Priest

Mrs. Priest is survived by her children, Sandi (Elmer) Ploetz, Jon (Becky) Priest and Glenn (Trisha) Priest; by grandchildren, Janelle Stark, Thealyn Ploetz, Abigayle Ploetz, Cara (Mitchell) Eddy, Rebecca (Zac Dake) Priest, Alex Priest, Alexander Bryant, Glenn Priest Jr., Zeke Priest, Trevor Priest and Cyrus Priest; by great-grandaughter, Bentley Eddy. She is predeceased by her husband, Ronald, who died in 2014, and grandson, Mitchell Wirth, who died in 2025.

Carolyn’s life will be celebrated at 11:00AM on Thursday, July 2, 2026 at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 9037 Otto-E. Otto Road., Cattaraugus, N.Y. An hour of remembrance will be celebrated there before the 11AM. service. Flowers are gratefully declined; donations in Carolyn’s memory may be made to Immanuel Lutheran Church, the Alzheimer’s Association, the ALS Association or the Otto Volunteer Fire Department.

She was born in Warren, Pa., on July 26, 1937. Her father, Arthur Sadler, died six weeks after her birth, and she was raised by her mother, Gertrude, a telephone operator, in a house with both her grandmother and great-grandmother during World War II. Her memories included being the one to hold her great-grandmother’s hand during blackouts (Warren was an industrial city, and there were blackout drills) and to let the others know if her great-grandma, who was deaf and couldn’t hear the alarms, needed anything.

Carolyn was orphaned when her mother, whose heart had been weakened by a childhood case of rheumatic fever, died in June of 1952. She spent the rest of her teen years living with her mother’s sister, Olive Schussler, and her uncle, Bob Schussler.

She graduated in 1955 from Warren High School, where she participated in a myriad of activities, ranging from the German Club to the Dramatic Club, the Girls Athletic Association and Future Homemakers of America. Among other things, she was known for her ability to jitterbug on roller skates!

Carolyn, also known by her nickname of Chic, went on to attend the Millard Fillmore Nursing School, earning her degree as a registered nurse. The Millard Fillmore three-year program started students at the University of Buffalo and then rotated them through area hospitals.

When she was doing a rotation of Gowanda State Hospital (later renamed Gowanda Psychiatric Center), she met a young worker in the mailroom who had recently returned from an army assignment in Korea. Their first date at the Baghdad Inn in Collins didn’t go well, but he was persistent.

Within a few weeks they were dating, then months later engaged. Ron and Carolyn were married on Sept. 20, 1958. Their first child, Sandra, was born in the fall of 1959.

Carolyn continued to work at Gowanda State through the early 1960s, with highlights including accompanying Ron, who played on the hospital semi-pro baseball team, to New York City to see the 1964 World’s Fair and games at both Shea and Yankee stadiums.

She worked at nursing homes in the Allegany County area when Ron went back to school at Alfred State College and then was a stay-at-home mom (Jon had arrived in 1964 and Glenn was to arrive in 1968) when they moved to Brant Lake in the Adirondacks in 1967.

Ron and Carolyn returned to Cattaraugus County in 1969 when they bought a dairy farm in Otto and the small-town girl learned the art of farming. Her medical skills were stuff at hand though, as her daughter Sandi recalls having to hold a kitten who had been injured by a farm vehicle as her mother stitched up the cat’s wounds.

In fact, Carolyn was known to say that she and Ron never actually set out to find their best animals; the animals, from dogs like Yakushev, Perky and Kibbie to cats like Tasha, Nettles and Catfish (the latter two from the Yankees collection of kittens) found them.

It was in Otto where Carolyn became engaged in community service. She was elected town clerk, serving 1973 to 1977, and was active in the Otto Volunteer Fire Department’s women’s auxiliary. When Carolyn and Ron joined Immanuel Lutheran Church in Otto, she quickly became active in the Ladies Aid group.

Carolyn returned to nursing in October of 1976, returning to Gowanda Psychiatric Center, where she worked extensively with the geriatric patients. She continued nursing for the state until 1997, moving on to Buffalo Psychiatric Center and West Seneca Children’s Psychiatric Center,

In retirement, she continued to volunteer, adding Meals On Wheels to her activities. She also served as an assessor and election inspector for the Town of Otto. She regularly attended Warren High School alumni events and gatherings of her classmates from Millard Fillmore — the Millie Fillios. She and Ron traveled widely until his death in 2014, including many years of wintering near Dade City, Florida, where they were frequent champions in mixed doubles golf events.

Carolyn will be remembered for many things, including her skill at knitting and sewing, at games (Scrabble, euchre and cribbage, in particular), her ability with crossword puzzles and word games, her wry sense of humor (and appreciation of ribald limericks) and her baking (fruit pies and apple dumplings, in particular).

But most of all she’ll be remembered for her love of her children and grandchildren. Her home always had an open door for grandchildren Ã- with cookies at the ready.

Words of sympathy may be left on www.LaingFuneralHome.com.