Brighton - Carol McMacken, teacher, author and longtime resident of Brighton died Tuesday, November 23, 2021. She was 87 years old. Carol slipped away quietly in the home that she shared with her husband, Mark, raised her family in and lived in for more than 60 years. At the time of death, she was at peace, without pain and surrounded by loved ones.

Carol taught in the Brighton schools for over 30 years, beginning as a substitute teacher at St. Patrick's school, before moving over to the public schools. Carol finished her teaching career teaching English at Baker College. Carol was a member of the Brighton Historical Society, Delta Kappa Gamma, the teacher's sorority, and was listed in the 1996 edition of Who's Who Among American Teachers. Carol authored the book Settlement to City: Brighton, Michigan, 1832 – 1945 in 2004, a comprehensive history of the town she loved. All proceeds from the book were donated to the Brighton Historical Society, and it is still in print today. In 2006 Carol was inducted into The Brighton Area Women's History Honor Role.

Winifred Carol Kastner was born in Detroit, Michigan on August 13, 1934, the 7th of 8 children. Her parents, Winifred and Frank Kastner, lived on the near Westside of the then bustling vibrant city which was Detroit. Her mother was a homemaker and her father a wholesale meat distributor. Carol never lost her love for the City where she was born and educated and given so much. Carol graduated from Mackenzie high school in 1952 at a time when the Detroit public school system was considered one of the finest in the country. The Kastner family owned a summer cottage on Island Lake in Brighton where the family spent summers. Carol fell in love with Brighton and met and married her husband Mark, the man she would spend the next 57 years with prior to Mark's death in 2012.

Carol began her higher education at Michigan State Normal College in Ypsilanti, graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a teaching degree, and later earned two master's degrees from Eastern Michigan University. She also attended the University of Michigan and Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

Carol loved teaching all her life. She always felt that teaching was a calling, a profession to be proud of. Her favorite pastime as a child was playing school with her dolls and the family cat, Penelope. Her role models were the teachers she had as a child. As such, her classrooms were orderly, children were treated with respect and dignity, and her life-long philosophy was, "Good manners never go out of style."

Carol is survived by her two sons Tim (Leslie), and Pat; and grandchildren Catherine Elizabeth (Sean), Tim Jr. (Laura), Charlie (Becki) and Patrick Jr.; as well as her sister, Mary, of Howell.