Carolyn Cleveland Lanphere

A uniquely lovely soul has left us. Carolyn Cleveland Lanphere, 86, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly of cardiac arrest on October 14, 2024 in Albuquerque, NM. Carolyn was a much beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, and daughter. She was the consummate Southern Belle. Born in Franklin, LA on April 26, 1938, Carolyn was a warm, lovely woman with a soft-spoken voice and a hint of mischief in her smile. She grew up in Galveston, TX, where her father, Arthur Lee Cleveland Jr, worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. She attended Ball High School in Galveston and studied for two years at the University of Texas in Austin. Carolyn was passionate about the various interests she pursued throughout her lifetime. Her search for classic beauty was reflected in her artwork, decorating, cooking, and gardening. She loved to cook, and the delicious smells of homemade cooking from her kitchen are among our most cherished memories as a family. Carolyn kept a beautiful, clean home, which she decorated with exquisite taste. She loved to entertain and serve gourmet meals to friends and family, especially at Christmastime. Affectionately known as “Memo” to her grandchildren and great grandchildren, she delighted in teaching them to how to bake and to make and hand pull homemade salt water taffy. Carolyn was a beautifully accomplished artist. She mastered intricate still life centerpieces as well as painstakingly created portraits in oil of her grandchildren. Carolyn had an interior design license and was also was a master gardener. She devoted countless hours to her garden, carefully tending her beloved flowers. At her home on Sunningdale Ct, Carolyn had over 450 rose bushes, and the family always knew it was time to fertilize the roses when a dump truck would arrive at the house and unload an enormous pile of manure in the front driveway. Carolyn herself was a classic beauty with her fair skin, dark hair, and requisite red lipstick. People often likened her to Snow White or to the stunning late actress, Elizabeth Taylor. But Carolyn’s greatest beauty was within; it radiated in the tender, generous, gracious way she cared for her family and friends, and in how she taught her children to esteem others more highly than themselves. She strived to honor God with her life, behavior, and convictions; often ministering to sick friends and church members in need by taking over hot, homemade meals.

Carolyn was predeceased by her husband, Eric Daniel Lanphere of Albuquerque, NM; her parents, Nell Moore Cleveland and Arthur Lee Cleveland Jr of Galveston, TX, her older sister Patricia Ann Cleveland of Galveston, TX; her daughter, Marcelle McLeod Kirshner of Thousand Oaks, CA, and her grandson, Thompson (Tommy) Hughes Lang II of Albuquerque, NM. 

Carolyn is survived by her son, Eric Cessna Lanphere and his wife Debbie of Corrales, NM; her daughter, Kimberley McLeod Lang and her longtime love of 32 years, Robert William Young of Albuquerque, NM; her brothers, Arthur Lee Cleveland III (Bill) and his wife Sylvia of Navasota, TX, and John Moore Cleveland (Johnny) and his wife Penelope of Pearland, TX; beloved grandchildren, Margaret Kimberley Lang and son-in-law Carlos Moncho Genovés of Mallorca, Spain; Brittany Lanphere Lang and loving partner Dennis O’Connor of Todos Santos, MX; Geneva Grace Kirshner and Giles McLeod Kirshner of Los Angeles, CA; Daniel Eric Lanphere of Corrales, NM; beloved niece, Patricia Ann Porter and her husband Morgan of Navasota, TX; nephew, John Millard Cleveland and his wife Debbie of Navasota, TX; nephews, John Moore Cleveland Jr. and Stephen Christopher Cleveland of Galveston, TX; cherished great-granddaughters, Finnley Margaret Lang O’Connor and Odesza Rose Lang O’Connor of Todos Santos, Mexico, and great-grandson Koa Moncho Lang of Mallorca, Spain. Carolyn is also survived by several extended family members in Louisiana, as well as by many friends everywhere who loved her dearly.

 Carolyn’s sweet presence in our lives will be immeasurably missed, but we are comforted by the knowledge that she is in the eternal presence of God, joyfully reunited with the loved ones who have gone before her.

A Celebration of Life Service for Carolyn will be held on Saturday, November 9, 2024 at 11:00 am at Daniel’s Family Funeral Home, 4310 Sara Road SE, Rio Rancho, NM 87124. A small reception with coffee and sweets will immediately follow the service.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that contributions be made in Carolyn’s honor to Animal Humane New Mexico.