Carolyn Wiley, Staff Contributor

A native Texan, Carolyn came to the Pacific Northwest in 1962 to see the World’s Fair. A University of Texas graduate, she started in pre-med but switched to education for the assured time off each summer. She earned advanced degrees at Seattle Pacific University and moved to the Key Peninsula in 1998 after a career in education.

A passionate educator and advocate for the arts, Wiley discovered that she had more talent as a grant writer than a visual artist. Grant-writing sessions require less cleanup than painting or printmaking. For a number of years, she was active as a citizen lobbyist for the arts and presided over the Washington State Arts Alliance that funded a full-time arts lobbyist in Olympia.

Wiley has spent her retirement years vying for the title of “Best Grandma Ever,” designing quilts and jewelry, writing poetry and explaining how the world works to fans of “Devil’s Head Diary,” her KP News column. Over the past five years, feedback from readers and numerous awards have continued to pump up an already-inflated ego.

When not writing or raising funds for community causes, Wiley spends her idle hours teaching Tai Chi Sword Form and pulling scotch broom with David — her one and only — who has been a reliable source of amusement and delight for 60 years.