Caryl Susan Brensinger, 73, passed away peacefully on April 21, 2024, surrounded by adoring family, leaving behind a legacy of concern for others, intellectual curiosity, and commitment to her values. She was born on January 19,1951 in Boston, Massachusetts, daughter of Arnold P. and Della A. Hanson and lived a life full of adventure, nurturing, and achievement.
Caryl graduated from Berlin High School in 1969 and the University of New Hampshire in 1973 with a Bachelor of Science. She went on to earn a master’s degree from Boston University School of Nursing in 1975. While completing her graduate degree, she worked in the Infectious Diseases unit at Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston. Caryl taught nursing at Fitchburg State College and later, Lamaze classes at the Rimmon Street School in Manchester, NH.
It was during her freshman year at UNH in 1969, that Caryl met her future husband of 51 years, Barry Brensinger of Emmaus, Pennsylvania. Barry was then a freshman at Dartmouth College. The two met serendipitously in her hometown of Berlin, NH and soon thereafter knew that in each other, they had found their life partners.
The family matriarch in the truest sense, Caryl was determined, insightful, and fierce and yet also tender, loving, and endlessly generous. Her proudest achievement in life was her two children, Cam Brensinger and Evelyn Aissa, and her three grandchildren: Vivian, Landon, and Sabine. To her children she was a trusted and frequent confidant, so much so that she and her daughter often marveled at their uncanny knack for mind-reading and reaching out to call or message each other at precisely the same moment. To her grandchildren, she was “Susie” and she was the center of their universe.
A great learner, she had an insatiable curiosity for the life sciences, geology, astronomy, and astrophysics. Her life-long love of the health sciences solidified her beloved role as the family’s “on-call” medical advisor. Though she worried greatly about the direction of society, she was intensely inspired by the potential of scientific discovery and the awe and grandeur of the greater universe.
Caryl instilled a deep and abiding love of the outdoors in both her children. Her passion for skiing, hiking, and exploring took the family to New Hampshire’s White Mountains and this country’s national parks on many formative trips that became family lore and shaped the livelihoods and passions of the younger generations. When her own children were in high school, she and Barry began an almost three-decade passion for sports car racing, and Caryl was a regular podium finisher. She became an accomplished racer and high performance driving instructor. When her son took up vehicle-based exploring, overland trips became a source of joy and she and Barry joined adventures to remote places across the Southwest, Mexico, and Canada. While her daughter lived overseas in the Middle East, Caryl soaked up related travel and history books and enthusiastically traveled to meet her, always in pursuit of building greater understanding of the world and humanity.
She enjoyed quiet moments of reflection and remembrance. She was an untrained but exceptional artist with an effortless and memorable style, always adding beautiful illustrations and perfect handwriting to her frequent missives. She was also a voracious reader, never without a challenging book at her bedside. Inspired by her daughter’s remarkable green thumb, she poured herself into cultivating extensive and immaculate gardens, spending countless hours in her yard, never afraid of hard work, always appreciative of fresh air and sunshine.
When her children attended the Derryfield School in Manchester, NH, she became deeply involved there, eventually serving as the Chair of Derryfield School Board of Directors. As a result of her strategic leadership, she was later invited to serve on the Board of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
In 2002, her son Cam founded a brand of backpacking and camping gear called NEMO Equipment, and shortly thereafter called to ask if she would mind helping with some of the bookkeeping. To her great pride, NEMO went on to be a global leader in the outdoor sporting goods industry. Caryl spent over twenty years in the accounting department, respected for her attention to detail and for getting her work done no matter where she might be or what obstacles she faced. As with everything she did, she approached her work with unmatched pride, focus, and commitment.
Caryl was a gift to her family and all those who earned their way into her inner circle, entirely unique and greatly admired. She embodied her family motto, Memento Vivere, “remember to live,” with a rare intensity, devotion, and talent. She appreciated her good fortune in life, most especially in meeting Barry. They were a beautiful couple, in all ways, for over 50 years. She is survived by her husband, Barry L. Brensinger of Manchester; her son, Cam Brensinger and his wife Caitlin and their two children Vivian and Landon of Stratham, and; her daughter, Evelyn Aissa, her husband Ahmad, and their daughter, Sabine, of Concord.
A private person, and one who never wanted to burden others, Caryl did not wish to have a conventional service. Instead, Tribute Gifts in her memory can be made to the Mount Washington Observatory via https://mountwashington.org/donate or via mail to Mount Washington Observatory, P.O. Box 2310, North Conway, NH 03860. The Observatory’s mission is to advance understanding of the natural systems that create Earth’s weather and climate.
J.N. Boufford & Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
For more information and online guestbook please visit www.bouffordfuneralhome.com.