Obituary of Patricia "Ronnie" Carey

Patricia Latham Carpenter Carey, known as Ronnie by her friends and family, passed away peacefully on January 11, 2025, at age 81 after a valiant battle with cancer. Her life was filled with strong faith, lots of laughter and tons of love for her family and friends.

While Ronnie will be greatly missed, her family and friends will remember her and the great times they had with her throughout her life.

Ronnie was the daughter of Patricia Allen and Francis Newton Carpenter Jr. She was born at the United Hospital in Port Chester, NY and grew up in Rye, NY. She graduated from Rosemary Hall in Greenwich and Marjorie Webster College in D.C.

During her summers in college, Ronnie was an intern at Harper’s Bazaar and also volunteered as a candy striper at United Hospital. Upon college graduation, she went to work for Bloomingdale’s in Stamford, CT. She later joined Radio Liberty, the largest radio station broadcasting to the Soviet Union, where she worked as a security assistant. This role piqued her interest in world affairs and ultimately politics.

On Good Friday, 1966, Ronnie met her loving husband, Daniel Carey; they married in June 1967.

Dan’s job was in Rahway, NJ, so they moved from Greenwich, CT to Warrenville, NJ. In the Spring of 1968, one of Ronnie’s brothers, Ashton Prindle, was killed in Vietnam.  Ronnie then joined the American Red Cross to work for service for military families and for the bloodmobile.  Their first beautiful daughter, Stephanie was born; they moved to Darien that spring to be closer to family. Their second beautiful daughter, Amanda was born soon after that.

Ronnie was an avid skier and golfer but turned to tennis and paddle after Amanda was born. Racquet sports became her passion.

Having settled in Darien, Ronnie became involved in numerous volunteer activities and built a love and devotion to St. Luke’s Church in Darien where she taught Sunday School for 23 years. Ronnie served as a teacher during summer bible school; served on the Church School committee for 12 years; served as an usher; and co-chaired the St. Martha’s Guild for 14 years. St. Luke’s was her home away from home.

Ronnie’s other passion was town politics. She served on the Royle School board when Stephanie and Amanda were in elementary school and then later became very involved in town issues.  Ronnie served on the Advisory Committee on Aging. She was a member of the Darien Representative Town Meeting (RTM) for 18 years, serving on the Rules Committee, Park and Recreation Committee and Finance and Budget Committee.

In 1989, Ronnie became President of the Republican Club of Darien, the largest grass root Republican organization in CT. She was one of its founding members. In 1992, she was elected to the Republican Town Committee where she was Recruitment Co-Chair.  She was also a board member of the Darien Women’s Republican Association.  Ronnie worked at the Darien Bloodmobile and helped raise money for the Red Cross.

In 2004, Ronnie became a Florida resident.  She and Dan began spending their winters in Delray Beach, where Ronnie’s family lived.

Ronnie always enjoyed a good prank as her sons-in-law discovered during their first visits to the Darien house, where they were greeted with a short-sheeted bed. Known affectionately as “Lala,” a nickname given by her beloved granddaughter, Baker, after an adorable cartoon character with short blond hair and lots of spunk. Ronnie’s daughters and granddaughter were the true lights of her life, filling her days with love and happiness.

Ronnie and Dan belong to Wee Burn Country Club and Gulfstream Bath & Tennis where they enjoyed countless memories with both family and friends over the years.

Ronnie is survived by her loving husband, Dan Carey, her two beloved daughters - Stephanie Latham Carroll (Bob), Amanda Rutledge Dunn (Tom), her beloved granddaughter, Patricia Baker Carroll, her sister, Hilary Lynch (Tom), and her brothers - F. Newton Carpenter (Joan); Timothy Knowlton Carpenter (Susan) and Edward B. Prindle.

A memorial service will be held at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 1864 Post Road, in Darien, on Saturday, February 1^st, 2025 at 2 p.m. Memorial donations can be made to

Rutgers Cancer Institute at https://raise.rutgersfoundation.org/event/RonnieCarey