Carole Ternahan, enjoyed gardening

Carol Ternahan, 60, died Sunday, April 17, at St. Francis Hospital in Wilmington after a long, difficult battle with rheumatoid arthritis, pneumonia and heart failure.

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, March 9, 1956, she was the daughter of Wanda Crowley and the late Robert Ternahan. Her stepfather is Tom Crowley. She grew up in the Rehoboth area where she attended Cape Henlopen High School in Lewes. Later, she earned her real estate license and had a successful career as a real estate agent at her parents’ company, Crowley Associates Real Estate. She also had her own business, C & S Cleaning, as an efficient and timely cleaning company to service the many summer rental units managed by Crowley Real Estate and other local companies.

Her avocation was in her garden where she nurtured many gorgeous and sometimes rare flora and fauna. Her garden was spectacular, and she had a lovely fish pond that was also inhabited by a large and interesting variety of turtles and koi. And after all was said and done, one of the most memorable things about Carole Ternahan was her quick wit and infectious sense of humor.

Carole is survived by her mother, Wanda Crowley and stepfather, Tom Crowley; her sister, Sherry Ternahan; brother Bob Ternahan; daughter, Kaitlyn Shugar; sons, Michael Kitzman, Patrick Ternahan, and John Ternahan; cousin Laura Fry; and grandchildren Melissa, Aida, Benjamin, Nolan and Alannah; along with stepmother Thelma Ternahan and stepsiblings Paul and Cheryl; and stepsiblings Tom, David, Brian, Michael and Cathleen Crowley.

A celebration of her life will be held at 5 p.m., Tuesday, May 10, at Mariner’s Bethel United Methodist Church, 81 Central Ave., Ocean View.