Carolyn Miethe Lisle

Carolyn Miethe Lisle, 80, of Nashua, New Hampshire, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, September 1st 2020, at her home after a three year struggle with cancer.

Carolyn was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on August 18, 1940, a daughter of the late Bernard J. and Jessica M. (Steadman) Miethe. She was the loving and devoted wife of John B. Lisle.

Carolyn was a strong, generous, and caring woman who helped raise her two brothers, and her sister after her father passed away when she was only 16 years old. She graduated from Simmons College in Boston in 1964 with a major in Publications and minor in Physics.

After college and some experience in the workplace, she chose to join the United States Navy during the Vietnam War, achieving the rank of Lieutenant JG. Her final assignment was as Communications Officer at Boston Naval Station.

On April 1st 1967, she married John Lisle at Holy Trinity Church in Boston. They had their reception at the Officer's Club at the Charlestown Naval Shipyard, overlooking the USS Constitution. After leaving the Navy, she worked as the Computer Center Manager for the Computer Science Department at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh while John attended graduate school there. She continued a career in High Tech at firms in the Hartford and Boston areas, including Honeywell and Prime Computer. Most of her latter career was as a Technical Writer and Editor.

Carolyn was a working mom, balancing a full time career, raising 3 very different children, and juggling their active lifestyles. She had a lifelong love of reading science fiction and was an especial fan of all things Tolkein. Family and especially her grandsons filled her with joy.

Carolyn believed in community service, serving on PTOs and as Treasurer of her church in Lexington. She served the people of Nashua and New Hampshire as a State Legislator from 2006 to 2010. Carolyn served on the Veterans Affairs and the Science, Technology and Energy committees. Carolyn was especially proud of being in the New Hampshire House of Representatives when Marriage Equality was passed in 2009. She had long held the belief that everyone deserves the same chance of love and happiness as everyone else.

Carolyn began a battle with cancer in 2017, beating the odds and proving the resilience of her determination. In early 2020, after winning two previous cancer battles, the cancer returned stronger and more invasive than before. The family thanks the dedicated help of Dr. Gautami Rao and her staff at the MGH/SNHMC Oncology department.

Carolyn and her smile will be missed by family and friends; her spirit and story will live on in every one who knew and loved her.

Besides her husband, Carolyn is survived by her daughter Johanna G. Lisle Newbold, DC (Alex) of Nashua, her sons David B. Lisle of Nashua, and John H. Lisle of Tucson, Arizona; her grandsons Hal and Jack Newbold; and her sister Virginia Forsberg (Charles) of Lexington, Massachusetts; her brothers Frank Miethe of Tyngsborough and Bernard Miethe (Kathy) of Londonderry; and nieces and nephews.

Grave side services were held at Evergreen Cemetery, 391 Main St., Nashua on Thursday, September 10th at 2PM. Services and arrangements have been entrusted to the care of the Rochette Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 21 Kinsley Street, Nashua, NH.

 In lieu of flowers donations in Carolyn's memory can be sent to Humane Society of Greater Nashua, 24 Ferry Road, Nashua, NH 03064. 

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