Where Food, Drinks & Stories Are Shared
//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/01e/148523/148523-life-panel.jpg

Caryn Mortimore

June 14, 1951 - February 4, 2025
Kalamazoo, MI

//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/01e/148523/148523-01.jpg



Visitation

Monday, February 10, 2025
11:00 AM EST
Agape Christian Church
609 Cherokee St
Kalamazoo, MI 49006
(269) 385-5772
Web Site

Service

Monday, February 10, 2025
12:00 PM EST
Agape Christian Church
609 Cherokee St.
Kalamazoo, MI 49006
(269) 385-5772
Web Site

Flowers


Below is the contact information for a florist recommended by the funeral home.

Ambati
1830 S. Westnedge
Kalamazoo, MI 49008
(269) 349-4961
Driving Directions
Web Site

Taylor's Florist and Gifts
215 E. Michigan Ave.
Paw Paw, MI 49079
(269) 657-6256
Driving Directions
Web Site

Life Story / Obituary


//cdn.lifestorynet.com/fh/view-life-story-video.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/01e/148523/148523-02.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/01e/148523/148523-03.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/01e/148523/148523-04.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/01e/148523/148523-05.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/fh/download-memory-folder.jpg
Print

Caryn Dawn Mortimore (Johnson) was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother. She was a dedicated woman of God. She was a faithful and devoted servant to her family, her neighbors, and her church community, and she was a compassionate and loyal friend to many. Caryn found her greatest happiness in caring for the family that she so dearly loved, and although her passing brings with it profound grief, Caryn’s life will be remembered and celebrated by all those who had the privilege of walking alongside her. Caryn was a woman of honor, committed to sharing her joy with others, and the memories she leaves behind will be cherished by all who knew her. She will be deeply missed.

Caryn was welcomed into this world by her parents, Edward and Helen Johnson, on June 14, 1951. She was raised in White Lake, Michigan in a mid-century modern home that her father built, and she was the oldest of three siblings: Gary, Cathie, and Cindy. As a young teen Caryn was involved in 4-H sewing projects, where she won awards for her skillful work. In high school she began sewing her own clothes, including the special dress that she wore on the prom date with her high-school sweetheart, Chris Mortimore. Caryn loved water skiing and downhill skiing, and she worked winters at the local Alpine Valley ski shop. At Milford High School, Caryn was a gifted student; she served on the Student Council, and she was a member of the National Honors Society. Her beauty graced the Homecoming Court, and she was the Editor for her senior yearbook. Caryn graduated from Milford in 1969, and her senior quote reminds us that, “It’s when we forget about ourselves that we do things that are remembered.” Following her graduation, Caryn attended Western Michigan University to study finance and accounting, but after one year of study, she and Chris became engaged, and they charted a new path forward, together.

Caryn met her husband of 51 years during her school days at Milford High School. Both Chris and Caryn loved to tell the story of how Chris would linger in the hallway to walk her to her next class, even though it was completely out of his way. He captured Caryn’s heart after their first kiss, where he leaned in gently, clasping his hands tightly behind her back. In the Spring of 1970 they became engaged, and they were married on August 22, 1970. The newlyweds set up shop in a tiny apartment overlooking Austin Lake but soon found themselves moving closer to Kalamazoo when gas money became short. Bicycling became their new mode of transportation. After just two short years, Caryn shared the news that they would be welcoming their first child, and together they bought their first home in the Washington Square neighborhood where their family of six grew roots on Clinton Street.

Caryn was the beating heart of both her home and the neighborhood. When a dozen new families from the Agape Church populated the block, Caryn welcomed them in with housewarming presents, Christmas baked goods, and handmade gifts. She led home groups and Bible studies, she planned potlucks and block parties, all while up to her elbows in children. She directed troupes of big wheels and bicycles, set up water-sprinklers, and lit sparklers. She built snowmen and supervised sandboxes, and she nursed scraped elbows and knees. Above all, her actions modeled Christ’s commandment to love her neighbors. She was–as all who knew her can attest–a genuine example of a good and faithful servant.

Caryn was industrious and creative; she loved visiting flea markets and estate sales and transforming old furnishings into valuable gems. She sought to achieve her goals with fierce determination. Once she put her mind to something, it would be done. Her desire to teach her children the sport she loved, for example, led her to become a ski school instructor at the Bittersweet Ski Resort. She secured equipment for each of her children through ski swaps, and in exchange for her work, she earned free ski passes. Caryn served as a ski instructor for many years and later found great joy in teaching her grandchildren to ski as well. The passion she instilled in her children for downhill skiing became a legacy for her twelve grandchildren who continue that passion today.

Vocationally, Caryn served in several administrative roles throughout her lifetime. She was the executive secretary at Agape Christian Church for twenty years, where her spiritual and organizational gifts mentored and supported many. Her true vocation, however, was in the home. As a mother, Caryn was attentive, caring, and instructive. She adored her babies, and she spent hours swaddling, cradling, and rocking them to sleep. She knew exactly how to calm a restless child with her gentle touch. Just as her delicate hands sewed together the handmade matching outfits, she so carefully crafted for each of her children, so too her devotion stitched her family and loved ones together with unfailing love. Evidence of her handiwork lives on today in the wedding dresses she created for herself and her own daughters, in the flowers and wreaths she designed to adorn our homes, and in the handmade Christmas and holiday decorations she displayed each season. Caryn’s hands are a testament to beauty she instilled in the hearts and lives of everyone she met.

In her retirement, Caryn enjoyed gardening; her green thumb was the envy of many, and her yard was filled with the beauty of hydrangeas and roses, hostas and ferns, birdfeeders and butterflies. She loved entertaining both friends and family on her back patio, with rich glasses of wine and wide bowls of chips and guacamole. She found delight in her grandchildren the most–teaching them to pick herbs, sew a stitch, make hot cocoa and malt-o-meal, frost a cake, spot a hummingbird, or make a ski wedge in the snow. Observing her gentle and loving way with each grandchild served witness to the adoring and devoted mother she used to be. In these joyful moments, Caryn’s laughter lilted and danced through the air; her spirit was light, content, grateful, and free.

Ever faithful and determined, Caryn fought fiercely for her husband Chris, as he waged his private war on the cancer that eventually took his life. She was his ally, his companion, his courage. She was his voice, his story, and the lantern that carried his light forward when his spirit left the world. Though we grieve in our hearts for the loss of both Chris and Caryn, we take great solace and comfort in the knowledge that they are now reunited in heaven, through Christ’s divine love.

Caryn leaves behind a priceless legacy of love, faith, kindness, and loyalty that her loved ones will proudly carry with them into the future. Caryn entered heaven on February 4, 2025, at the age of 73. She passed with the knowledge that she was loved deeply by those around her. Caryn is preceded in death by her husband, Chris, and her parents, Edward and Helen. She is survived by her two daughters Shannon (Jeremy) and Rachel (Dave); and her two sons Shawn (Kimberly) and Jesse (Criscelda); and twelve grandchildren: Isaac, Luke, Nathan, Zoe, Eve, Elaura, Malachi, Lulu, Phineas, Gideon, Ethan, and Ambrose; and her siblings: Gary (Deborah), Cathie (Keith), and Cindy (Stephen).

Please join us for a public celebration of life ceremony and reception on Monday, February 10, at 11AM at Agape Christian Church, 609 Cherokee Street, Kalamazoo, MI. 49009. A private interment with family members will follow. Visit Caryn’s webpage at BetzlerLifeStory.com to archive favorite memories and photos, and to sign her guestbook.

//cdn.lifestorynet.com/fh/view-life-story-video.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/01e/148523/148523-02.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/01e/148523/148523-03.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/01e/148523/148523-04.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/01e/148523/148523-05.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/fh/download-memory-folder.jpg