Augustana Lutheran Church of Hyde Park

Long-time Augustana member Carol Albright died on May 20th after a bout with pancreatic cancer. Carol and her husband, John, moved in recent years from Hyde Park to the near western suburbs, when they were no longer able to continue to live independently at home and to be nearer their children.

After they moved, they joined Grace Lutheran Church in River Forest, and Carol’s memorial service will be held there on Monday, June 12 at 11 am. Below is Carol’s obituary:

Carol Alice Albright passed away peacefully in her sleep on May 20, 2023, at the age of 87. Carol was born on March 20, 1936, in Chicago, IL to Edmund and Alice Rauch (Hahn). After graduating from Orion High School in 1952, Carol attended Augustana College in Rock Island, IL, and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in American studies. Upon graduating, she worked as a counselor with Lutheran Campus Ministry at Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR. It was there that Carol met her husband, Saul Gorski. They were married July 2nd, 1961, in Joliet, IL. They raised their two sons, Philip, and Peter, together in Wheaton, IL until Saul’s death in 1983. She and her younger son, Peter, stayed on in Wheaton for another two years until Peter graduated from high school. She continued to pave the way for her sons to complete graduate degrees, Phil with a PhD from the University of California at Berkeley, and Peter with an MBA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. At the same time, she continued to grow in her career as a medical magazine editor. In 1991, she married the love of her life John R. Albright in Tallahassee, FL, a Professor of Physics at Florida State. Together the two were active scholars at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) in Hyde Park. They never ceased to grow together, to explore ideas and the world together, or to enjoy one another’s company.

Carol was the Executive Editor of Zygon, Journal of Religion and Science, as well as the Associate for Programs at the Chicago Center for Religion and Science. Carol was a Regional Director for the John Templeton Foundation for the Southern United States and later for the Midwest region. She also served as Vice President for Religion with the Institute of Religion in an Age of Science (IRAS), and a long-term treasurer for the Center for Advanced Studies in Religion and Science (CASIRAS). Carol was a member of the European Society for the Study of Science and Theology (ESSSAT); she presented papers at ESSSAT conferences in France, Spain, Sweden, and Scotland. During her career, she published five books about science and religion.

Carol is survived by her husband, John; children, Philip (Hella Heydorn) Gorski of New Haven, CT; Peter (Kathleen) Gorski of Wheaton, IL; Helen (Curtis) Heminway of Memphis, TN; Cathy (Thomas) Pottorff of Monroe, MI; Jack Albright of Charleston, SC; Andrea (Jeremy) Albright of Tifton, GA; and Ben Albright of Kalamazoo, MI; Grandmother of Jacob Heydorn-Gorski, Eric Heydorn-Gorski and Mark Heydorn-Gorski; Nathan Gorski and Ben Gorski; Jonathan Heminway; Thomas (Katie) Pottorff and Edward Pottorff; Great Grandmother of Gabriel and Caleb Pottorff.

A Celebration of Carol’s life will be hosted on Sunday, June 11, 2023, and a memorial service will follow on June 12, 2023, at Grace Lutheran Church, 7900 Division Street, River Forest IL, 60305. Donations can be made to Lutheran World Relief at lwr.org.