Obituary of Carol S. Halaby Banerjee

Carol S. Halaby Banerjee, sixty nine, of Heritage Park went back to her true home at 8:09 a.m. Thursday (March 19 , 2015). while in WCA Hospital. She was born on August 4th, 1945 in Warren, Pa., the daughter of Benjamin and Margaret Petersen Halaby. She continued her childhood in Olean, NY, enjoying carefree years among family with aunts, uncles and grandparents frequently visiting. In 1953 the family moved to Chautauqua and started a business which would operate for 20 years, so she was able to soak up the cultural and educational influences that were then available. She was an artist and one of her first pastel paintings earned a blue ribbon at the Chautauqua Art Show at the Bestor Plaza. She graduated from Warren Area High School in 1963 and attended Florida State University in Talahassee, Florida where she met her future husband, Shib das Banerjee, who she married at Hurlbut Church in Chautauqua in 1965. The couple located to Buffalo, NY and East Aurora, NY where her husband did cancer research work at Roswell Park and she worked at the newspaper, The Advertiser. In 1968 they relocated to Menlo Park, California,with Shib taking a position at Stanford University, and Carol earning her B.A. in the Arts through Cañada College, Redwood City. There she also learned and taught weaving, making wall hangings, table covers, small rugs and pottery. She and her husband enjoyed many trips, including trips to India, Europe and Mexico. She was an avid reader all her life and possessed a sweet and gentle nature. Along with living a rich spiritual life, she also possessed the special gift of automatic writing. She was preceded in death by grandparents John Edgar and Agnes Mahaffy Petersen, parents Benjamin and Margaret Halaby Stewart and stepfather William H. Stewart. Surviving are a brother, Arthur Hayward(Jeanne) Halaby, a sister Cynthia Ann(George) Downe, three nieces and nephews and five great nieces and nephews. A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday in the Hubert Funeral Home and Cremation Services. Rev. Carmen Perry, pastor of Hurlburt Memorial United Methodist church, will officiate.Burial will be in Warren county Memorial Park, Warren, Pa. Friends will be received for one hour prior to the funeral service. You may send a condolence to the family by visiting www.hubertfuneralhome.com.