Carol Jocelyn Graham Stewart, a resident of Skillman, N.J. for 25 years, will be remembered as a person who always believed in family first. She died suddenly on Saturday May 19, 2012 as the result of a massive stroke.

A long time educator, Carol reveled in teaching those students who struggled the most and exciting those students who were the brightest stars. And she was a star educator herself. In the 1950s she was the first African American teacher at New Rochelle High School in New York. She spent most her thirty-five year career as a biology teacher at Columbia High School in Maplewood, N.J. One of her students, now a biologist at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. wrote that, next to his parents, she was the most influential person in his life.

Born in Washington, D.C. on November 25, 1929, she was the oldest child of Mayhugh and Juanita Graham. A beautiful girl with a keen intellect, she was salutatorian of her class at Dunbar High School and went onto graduate from Sarah Lawrence College, where she studied with Joseph Campbell. She received her master's degree in teaching from Columbia University. Her passion for learning never ceased. She was a voracious reader who loved science fiction, politics and philosophy.

She was an alumnae member of the Central New Jersey Chapter of The Links, Incorporated and active with The National Urban League. She also helped many people privately and with great compassion. She was a woman of strong faith and an active member of the Episcopal Church.

Her daughters, Alison Stewart and Dr. Lisa Stewart Crisp, her brother Dr. M. Arnold Graham, her nephew M. Arnold Graham III and her grandchildren Caitlin, Kelley and Isaac survive her.

A funeral service will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church in Princeton, N.J. on Thursday May 31, 2012 at 1pm. Then she will join her husband of nearly 55 years, Joseph T. Stewart Jr., on Martha's Vineyard, where he was laid to rest in 2009. A graveside service will be held June 2, 2012 at noon at Oak Bluffs Cemetery.

In honor of her life's work and achievements as an educator, in lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to her Alma Mater, Sarah Lawrence College. At her request, contributions will go to students with the most financial need. Donations can be made to the Sarah Lawrence College, in memory of Carol Graham Stewart, c/o Ms. Nana Carmen Ashhurst, 1 Mead Way, Bronxville, N.Y. 10708.