Carolyn Kneen Evans, lover and defender of Connecticut’s woods, waters, and wildlife, died Jan. 4, 2014 at the age of 82. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, July 8, 1931, Carolie, as she was known, attended The Laurel School, Bradford Junior College, and Cornell University, class of 1953. Her family moved east in the 50’s when her father was offered a job in New Haven.

Carolie dedicated herself to others and her family; to land protection, recycling, and community. She enjoyed being outdoors, especially on the water or in the woods. Carolie learned to sail on Lake Erie and later, in 1967, she was one of four women representing the Sachem’s Head Yacht Club in the Adams Cup Eliminations. Skiing and gardening were also favorite activities.

She believed that volunteers formed the fabric of a community, and helped to set up a volunteer bureau in New Haven, and then for schools in Guilford. While her children were young, she helped with scouting, school field trips, library programs, Red Cross blood drives, and numerous other volunteer activities. She set up Guilford’s community gardens on Nut Plains Road.

Carolie’s proudest accomplishments included the work she completed to preserve land in Connecticut. Her friendly, professional style and nurturing ways endeared her to hundreds of land trust leaders and landowners. She organized the formation and incorporation of Guilford Recycling in 1974, 12 years before recycling became mandated by the state. Funds earned from the sale of the communities’ donated glass and aluminum were donated to the Guilford Land Conservation Trust (GLCT) for open space acquisition. She served on the Land Study Committee for the Town of Guilford with the New Haven Water Company, served on the GLCT Board of Directors, and as chair of the Guilford Land Acquisition Committee. In 1977, she was appointed to the Guilford Conservation Commission and was one of two members who developed the Open Space Map used by the Commission and other Guilford boards and organizations in connection with the Town’s 1978 Plan of Conservation and Development.

From 1984 to 1996 she worked for The Nature Conservancy as Director of Land Protection and as Director of the Land Trust Service Bureau. During her tenure, Carolie was responsible for securing protected status for more than 6,100 acres in Connecticut and added another 5,000 acres to the Conservancy’s registry program. She was also named to the National Land Trust Council. Carolie was instrumental in negotiating the Land Conservation Trust protection of the 600-acre East River Preserve. She loved hiking and taking walks with friends and family.

Carolie was the daughter of the late Harold “Hal” Fitch Kneen and Carol Darrach Beattie Kneen. She was predeceased by a brother, Jamie Fitch Kneen; a sister, Nancy Kneen; and former husbands Gordon A. Evans and Robert O. Rawson. She is survived by a brother, Brewster Kneen (Cathleen) of Ottawa, Ontario; her daughter Nancy Wolff (William) of Bridgewater Center, Vermont; her son Gordon Alan Evans, Jr., (Maria) of North Haven; and daughter Sally Harold of Fairfield, as well as her adoring grandchildren Jessica Wolff Keating, Katie Wolff Bryant, Peter Wolff, Andrew Wolff and Annie, Lucia, and Nina Harold; her great-grandchildren Alma and Orson Keating; and many nieces and nephews. She will be sorely missed by all, including her partner, Jules Prown, of North Branford.

A celebration of Carolie’s life will be held at the First Congregational Church in Guilford on Jan. 25, 2014 at 11 a.m. Contributions in Carolie’s memory may be made to the Guilford Land Conservation Trust, P.O. Box 200, Guilford, CT  06427 or The Nature Conservancy, 55 Church Street, New Haven, CT  06510. Arrangements in care of the Guilford Funeral Home, 115 Church St, Guilford. To share a memory or leave a message of condolence for the family, please visit www.guilfordfuneralhome.com.