Carolee J. (Kellerman) Parwana

Whitehall - Carolee J. Parwana died from a series of illnesses on Friday, June 30, 2017.

Carolee was born on December 22, 1937, in Staten Island to Clifford and Doris (Kellermann) Jackson, but spent her childhood in Lake Vanare, NY except during her father's time of naval service in WWII when her family lived in Key West where Carolee befriended the base commander's pet parrot.

Carolee attended the one-room schoolhouse in Lake Vanare then graduated from Lake George High School. Her feral youth was spent swimming and row boating at the family business, Lake Vanare Cabins, cowgirl-ing for Willis Bennett, and barrel racing at Painted Pony Rodeo on her beloved mare Trinket who bore the mill iron D brand from Jackson, WY. She was employed at Storytown the summer it opened as Mary and her Little Lamb and after a brief dispute with owner Charley Wood over lamb rights worked half her shifts as Little Bo Peep. She also worked at Frontiertown as a trick rider under the tutelage of Poodles Hannaford, whose instruction prevented tragedy at a young age.

She received a BA in art education from the University of Arizona where she met and married husband Hakim after graduation. The couple spent the next 8 years raising their family in Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan and making many lifelong friends before moving to Lake George and eventually Whitehall, NY. She taught school briefly in South Corinth and at the American school in Lashkar Gah before her eventual career as elementary art teacher at Hadley-Luzerne Central School where she was well known among her students as an actual witch. Her favorite day of the school year was Halloween when she was allowed to wear her every-day witch outfit. During her tenure several of the naughtiest students were turned into purple toadstools and placed in front of Storytown as a warning to others.  She also earned certification at the College of Saint Rose in Albany. Teaching was a great joy to her. She knew every student in the school and never forgot a child.

Carolee was the unreliable narrator of her own life story despite having actually taken a Norwegian freighter from NYC through the Mediterranean Sea stopping at ports, and the Suez Canal to Karachi, Pakistan, while pregnant with her first child giving birth in hospital at port in Karachi and not on ship, much to the relief of the Norwegian ship captain. She travelled throughout Afghanistan, Central Asia and the Middle East including Beirut, Tehran, Dushanbe and Samarkand often with young family in tow. She flew Aeroflot to Moscow at the height of the Cold War, visited most US states, Mexico and Canada, much of Europe and in her later years visited her grandfather’s home town of Arendal, Norway then took ferries among the fjords then north of the Arctic Circle, making many friends along the way. But often facts did not meet the stringent standards of her imagination and stories were made just a little better in her telling.

In her later years she achieved her life-long goal of writing a book, “The Tale of Ji-Jon.” Which sadly did not include zombies.

Carolee is pre-deceased by her parents Cliff and Doris, her cousin who was like her older brother Ken Petersen, and son Tariq Amin. She is survived by her brother Peter Jackson, her husband of 58 years Mohammed Hakim, son Naim (Sohila), daughter Anisa Maye (Robert), daughter Noorjahan (Mark Syverson), and son Michael (Jeannette Brandt). She is survived by grandchildren Maryam and Medina; Justin and Danielle; Kamran and Olivia; as well as great grandchildren Berkeley and Zayne, and Ruth; as well as numerous family on her husband’s side, cousins, nieces and nephews.

Calling hours will be held from 1:30pm to 2:30pm on Wednesday July 5, 2017 at the Jillson Funeral Home Inc., 46 Williams Street, Whitehall, New York. A graveside service will be held following calling hours in the Greenmount Cemetery in Whitehall with the Patti Girard.

A time of remembrance and refreshment will be held at Historic Grounds Restaurant following the burial.

The family has suggested that in lieu of flowers please make donations to Friends of the IBA, P.O. Box 82, Fort Edward, NY 12828.

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