Carol Byram Kauppila, teacher, artist

Carol Byram Kauppila of Holden, Mass., a former Ridgefielder who had been an art teacher, died Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2005, in UMass Memorial Healthcare, Worcester, from complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. She was 61 years old and the wife of David Kauppila.

Mrs. Kauppila was born in Glen Ridge, N.J., the daughter of Theodore and Dorothy Miller Byram. She graduated from Ridgefield High School in 1962 and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in art from Southern Connecticut State College in New Haven.

She taught art classes at the East Ridge Junior High School in Ridgefield for several years after earning her teaching credentials, and was named “Outstanding Young Educator” in 1969.

In Massachusetts, Mrs. Kauppila worked for the Worcester Elder Care Service.

She was a talented water colorist and won several prizes from the Fitchburg Art Museum as well as from other museums in Massachusetts. She also loved gardening and making pottery.

Besides her husband of 17 years, Mrs. Kauppili is survived by her father, Theodore Byram of Vero Beach, Fla.; a sister, Judith Ashton, of Aptos, Calif.; three step-sons, Kenneth D. Kauppila of Orchard Park, N.Y.; Eric J. Kauppila and Christopher R. Kauppila, both of Worcester.

Services were private and under the direction of the Miles Funeral Home, 1158 Main Street, Holden.

Memorial donations may be made to the ALS Association, 73 McNeil Way, Dedham, MA 02028.