CHICOPEE – Carol Ann Szulc, 81, of Chicopee, one of the most curious women the world has ever seen, passed away peacefully on Thursday, November 17, 2022. She was born in Holyoke on April 22, 1941, the eldest child of the late Paul and Nancy (Barna) Balthazar. After graduating from Chicopee High School, she completed her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees, before earning a Doctoral Degree in Divinity from Andover-Newton Theological School. As a Methodist minister, the Reverend Dr. Szulc tended the spiritual needs of congregations throughout central and western Massachusetts before retiring in 2006. Of all her professional and personal accomplishments, Carol was proudest of the three children she raised with her husband Eric, who passed away in 2016. Carrying on her life’s example are her cherished children, Michael Szulc and his wife Diane, Paula De Santiago and her husband Marc, and Laurie Murray and her husband Frank; her eight grandchildren, geniuses all, Erica, Paul, and Calvin Szulc; Erica and Lauren Dominguez; and Frankie, Kelly, and Michael Murray; her much-loved sister, Susan Lyas and her husband Joseph; and her brothers, Gary Balthazar and his wife Denise, and Mark Balthazar and his wife Carole; and many dear extended members of the Balthazar and Szulc families. Her funeral will be held on Monday, November 28, 2022, beginning at the St. Pierre–Phaneuf Fairview Chapels (413-533-3307), 506 Britton Street, Chicopee, MA 01020 (funeral home will open at 8:30 a.m.), followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m. at Saint Anne Church, 30 College Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. Her burial will follow the Mass at Saint Stanislaus Cemetery, 800 Montgomery Street, Chicopee, MA 01013. Her family will receive friends at the funeral home on Monday, November 28, 2022, from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Carol’s family has requested that donations be made in her memory to the Springfield Rescue Mission, PO Box 9045, Springfield, MA 01102. For more details, please visit: www.stpierrephaneuf.com