Carole S Dunham

Carole Shirley Dunham, 80, passed away after a long illness on Saturday, February 1, 2025 at home with members of her family by her side. Carole was born on February 10, 1944 in New Berlin. She had seven siblings and grew up on a small dairy farm on the King Settlement Road. She graduated from New Berlin Central School in 1961, and married Harry Alfred Dunham on August 4, 1962. 

She began her working life in a clerical position at Norwich Pharmaceuticals, where she learned shorthand and gained her exceptional clerical skills. In the 1970s, she would join the cafeteria staff at New Berlin Central School while her sons were in attendance there. She began her position as legal secretary for Kevin M. Dowd in the late 1970s in his private law practice, and remained as his secretary in his eventual role as Chenango County Judge. In the late 1990s, Carole eventually advanced to the position of Chief Clerk of Family Court in Chenango County, a position from which she retired in 2015. 

Carole had many hobbies and interests over the years. She introduced her sons to music through her record albums, and shared her passion for Elvis Presley and country music. She sold Avon Products, amassing a large collection of decorative bottles. A lifelong love of dolls led to a large collection of American Girl dolls, a hobby shared with her granddaughter. She also participated in Macrame, ceramics, and bowled in a league. Along with her husband, Carole was a long-term member of the former Tianderah Chapter #457 of The Order of the Eastern Star in New Berlin. In her later years, Carole became a devoted fan of the New York Yankees and always looked forward to baseball season. 

Family get-togethers, reunions, and holidays brought Carole the most joy, as her family was the most important thing in her life. Carole always maintained that her most significant and cherished role in life was as a mother and grandmother. She will also be remembered for the love she shared with her parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, and close friends. 

Carole was preceded in death by her husband of 53 years, Harry Alfred Dunham; her parents Walter and Bertha Slentz; brothers Robert, Kenneth, Richard, David, and Mark Slentz; and sister Joyce Slentz. 

She is survived by her son Jeffrey B. Dunham and partner John Isenberg of Vestal; her son Joseph H. Dunham and partner Maribel Eltanbouly of New Berlin; her two beloved grandchildren, Alexis Dunham Mullins (husband Danny) of McDonough and Joey Dunham of Oxford; her sister Diane (Lawrence) Willis of Norwich; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins with whom she shared a close relationship. Finally, Carole is survived by her constant, loving companion, her dog Harley Quinn.

At this time, no formal services will be held, but we will have a celebration of Carole’s life at a later date along with a graveside service, at which time Carole’s ashes will be buried next to her husband in Fairview Cemetery in New Berlin, NY.