Carol Miles Tashjian

Carol Miles Tashjian died at the age of 92 on Thursday, September 12. She was a longtime resident of Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts and Tucson, Arizona before moving to Lasell Village in Auburndale, Massachusetts in 2011.

Carol was born on May 14, 1932, in Madison, Wisconsin. She received her B.A. from Wellesley College. While raising three young children she obtained her Ph.D. in English from Brandeis University. She co-founded a grant-writing practice, Tashjian Davidson Associates. In her fifties she became a technical writer. She then co-founded and served as a principal of Tashjian Howie Associates, which directed new product launches for biotechnology companies and which served as a link between corporate strategy and marketing teams and product development teams.

Carol was a published poet, artist and copper enamelist, gardener, birder, bicyclist, canoeist and hiker. She was a proud parent and a world traveler, planning trips with her husband, Armen, who shared her adventurous spirit, to far-flung locations including Bhutan. She and the other surviving members of her longstanding group of hiking friends, the Vibrant Souls, met as recently as a few weeks ago, though their days of scaling peaks were behind them. She loved reading, writing, music, learning and being out in the world, traits she passed down to her daughters and shared with others. Carol was elected as a Town Meeting Member in Wellesley a number of times.

Carol’s poetry and artwork often reflected her love of nature, an interest that began during her childhood in Wisconsin and continued throughout her life. She treasured her friendships and the mentorship she received in the Wellesley Arts and Crafts Guild and looked forward to yearly trips to Monhegan Island, Maine and Vermont where she and her long-term friends expressed their appreciation of nature through their individual perspectives: through words, in paint and in photography, resulting in collaborative works of art.

Carol enjoyed her time at Lasell Village for the new experiences, learning opportunities, sense of community and warm friendships it provided. She especially enjoyed her poetry classes, the company of and engagement with writers and the readings they performed together.

Carol is survived by her daughters Amy Tashjian (Donald Brown) of New York, New York, Elizabeth Tashjian (Uri Loewenstein) of Salt Lake City, Utah and Victoria Tashjian of De Pere, Wisconsin; grandchildren Alistair (Cindy), Allegra, Colin (Kathryn), Hilah (Scott) and Yael (Erez); great-grandchildren Adar, Ardella, Finn, Miles, Noe, and Shoshi; and her sister, Joan Oliver. She will be dearly missed.

Carol was predeceased by her husband of 54 years, Armen H. Tashjian, Jr., her parents, Eleanor and Philip Miles and her brother, Philip Miles, Jr.

A memorial service/celebration of life will be held at a later date. Donations in Carol’s name may be made to the Massachusetts Audubon Society.