Carol Ann Breyer- Obituary in Sarasota Herald Tribune

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/heraldtribune/obituary.aspx?n=carol-ann-breyer&pid=172609444
We will miss you, Carol Ann, our dear Sister, friend, minister and advocate for justice and equality for all especially the oppressed on the margins of church and society. As we mourn your loss and celebrate your life, we touch the face of Divine Compassion in the community of creation.
Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP

Carol Ann Breyer

February 26, 1934 – September 12, 2014

On September 12, Carol Ann died in her sleep in Savannah, GA, at a motel stopover enroute to a retreat in West Virginia.   She was born in Rochester, NY, to Caroline Gleichauf and Charles Strobel.  She had two older sisters, Jean Kinzel (deceased) and Marilyn Murray. She is survived by Lee Breyer, her husband of 45 years, her sister Marilyn, three nephews and two nieces.

Carol Ann Breyer lighting candles at Easter Vigil at MMOJ Easter Vigil Liturgy

 After the family moved to Baltimore, MD, she attended Mount St. Agnes High School and, on graduation, she went to the College of Notre Dame of Maryland.  During her college years, she joined the Sisters of Mercy in Baltimore and continued her undergraduate education at Mount St. Agnes College She earned her graduate degree at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.  She continued post grad studies at the University of Maryland and received her doctorate from Walden University in Educational Administration.  Her religious assignments took her to Savannah, GA, Mobile, AL, and Washington, DC as well as Baltimore.

In 1969, Carol Ann and Lee settled in the Washington, DC area.  There she was very active in the civil rights movement, working in the national office of the US Catholic Bishops in its Peace and Justice Office, learning much from the then newly established Public Broadcasting Service, and was employed by Prince George’s Community College to help establish its continuing education program for adults.  The couple was heavily involved in developing a number of small intentional communities dedicated to a renewal in the Catholic Church. 

Carol Ann Breyer and MMOJ Community at Inclusive Liturgy

In 1979, she and Lee moved to Tallahassee, FL, where she worked at the Florida Department of Education, focusing on the establishment of the state’s community college system and also with Florida State University  as a program evaluator.  It was there that she became very familiar with the problems of people” living on the streets” (through the local homeless coalition) and with those behind bars (at the local state prison).

Carol Ann took her compassion for justice and her commitment to nonviolence with her to Ellenton, FL in 2000.  There she and Lee built Mercy-on-the- Manatee, a house that won awards for energy conservation (the FPL BuildSmart Gold Award) and environmental sensitivity (the Florida Native Plant Society’s Landscaping Award).  Her passion for care of the environment caused her to be a very active volunteer in the Florida Master Gardener Program and the Sierra Club in Manatee County.  Carol Ann was heavily involved in peace and justice issues her entire life and so she became the Florida State Coordinator of Pax Christi, the national Catholic Peace Movement, and was also instrumental in the creation and establishment of the Diocese of Venice Environmental Justice Commission.  Shortly afterwards, she was active in the Earth Charter; South West Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice; Pace e Bene, the movement for a nonviolent culture of peace; as well as a member of Call to Action, a progressive organization in the Catholic tradition.   Her interest in such groups involved both church and social reform issues and brought her to the Mary, Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community.

Among her proudest achievements was her role on The President’s Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities and the subsequent federal legislation extending justice to a previously neglected population.  In all her activities, her signature quality was her advocacy for social justice for those living on the edges of church and society…with no exceptions.  

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A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 4, 4:00 pm, at St. Andrew United Church of Christ, 6908 Beneva Road, Sarasota, FL, 34238. This will be followed by refreshments and storytelling in Stewart Hall

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to:

Mary, Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community, 6908 Beneva Road, Sarasota, FL  34238

Pax Christi-USA, 415 Michigan Avenue NE – Suite 240, Washington, DC 20017-4503

Mercy Sisters of the Americas (South Central Community), 101 Mercy Drive, Belmont, NC 28012

Or a charity of your choosing.