Matilda Caroline Alexander

Matilda Caroline Alexander, 93, passed away Friday, September 25, 2020, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s, but even now we don’t dare call her Matilda.

Born in Columbia, Missouri to a Presbyterian minister and his wife, the family moved to Birmingham, Alabama and then to Fayetteville, North Carolina where Caroline graduated from high school. In 1949, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia and was voted the Most Beautiful in her class (when that was still a thing). She remained a loyal and faithful alumnus for the rest of her life and enjoyed getting together with her classmates at every reunion. She was also a member of Central Presbyterian Church for over seventy years and was a devoted member of the Chancel Choir for most of her time there.

Following college, Caroline accepted employment as a flight attendant for Delta Airlines. After starting her family, however, she worked for the Presbyterian Church Headquarters in Atlanta and later took a position at Emory University where she worked in the accounting department until she retired in 1992.

She was even busier in retirement than she had been when working. She was a volunteer at the Central Presbyterian Church Health Center, a “Hartsfield Host” at the Atlanta airport, a long-time usher at the Atlanta Symphony and the Alliance Theater, a member of the League of Women Voters, and a babysitter for her three grandchildren. Her favorite activity, though, was periodic trips to Savannah to join other volunteers counting dolphins for the Dolphin Project. Her most memorable trip to Savannah was when she hit a deer on the way there. A friend later remarked that “only Caroline could kill Bambi on the way to save Flipper.”

Throughout her life, Caroline loved spending time with her extended family at the family home in Mineral, Virginia. She spent countless summers there as a child riding horses in the local horse shows, and she returned as often as she could in her adult years.

Caroline was proceeded in death by her son Clay Hamilton Bryan, her sister Victoria Alexander Sharp, and her brother John McMillan Alexander. She is survived by sons Josh Bryan (Liz Ortega) and Wilkes Bryan; daughter-in-law Mary Jo Bryan; grandchildren, Kate, Austin, and James; many members of her extended family; and many friends.

In lieu of flowers, donations made be made in her honor to The Dolphin Project, 155 Bent Tree Way, Richmond Hill, Ga. 31324 (dolphinproject@gmail.com) or the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, 110 East 42nd Street, 16th Floor, NY, NY 10017.

In light of current conditions, a small, socially-distanced service will be held at Central Presbyterian Church on October 11, 2020, but attendance will be limited.