Carol S. Aitken

Carol S. Aitken passed from this world at Reston Hospital Center in the early hours of June 25, 2020, due to complications resulting from a fall. She was in peace at the end. She grasped life with both hands and she will be greatly missed by both friends and family. Carol was born on January 19, 1930, in Minneapolis, MN, to Gustav and Esther Schiefelbein and grew up in Durand, WI. She graduated from the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, MN, in 1951 and was awarded a post-graduate scholarship from the French government to study at the Université de Poitiers and teach at the Lycée des Jeune Filles in Poitiers, France, for a year. Upon her return, Carol taught for several years at Minnetonka High School in Minnesota before moving to Washington, DC, to try for a career with the Department of State. Instead, on June 15, 1957, Carol married Robert D. Aitken and they moved to their first post in Bangkok, Thailand. In the course of Robert’s distinguished career with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) , Carol also lived in Libya, Senegal, Britain, Tanzania, Belgium, and Turkey. Ultimately, Carol herself worked as a Case Officer at CIA before retiring. She was an avid bridge player and loved to garden. She had wonderful friends and a long and interesting life.
Carol is survived by her brother Thomas Schiefelbein and his wife Mary Jean; brother James Schiefelbein and his wife Marge; daughters Emily Aitken and Barbara McCrory; son-in-law Kevin McCrory; three much-loved grandchildren--Ian, Timothy, and Margaret McCrory; and her grand-cat Minx. Services will be held at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. Those wishing to make charitable donations in Carol’s memory should contribute to S.O.M.E (So Others Might Eat) in Washington, DC, for the Father John Adams Fund.