Carol Lynn Dutton, age 73, passed away peacefully at Newport Hospital on Saturday, November 29, 2025. Carol was born in Pleasantville, NJ, on March 26th, 1952. She was the daughter of Florence (Angell) Ridenour and Harry Ridenour. Along with her husband, Michael, she is survived by her daughters, Cheryl Lewis, Meghan (Dutton) Leighton and Katelin Dutton and by her sisters, Diane (Ridenour) Tholin and Elaine (Cannon) Maholland. Three brothers – Joseph Cannon, William Cannon and Steven Ridenour – predeceased her.
Carol is fondly remembered for her leadership at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Newport for orchestrating nearly a dozen mission trips throughout the United States, from locales ranging from New Mexico, New Orleans and Mississippi to West Virginia, Staten Island and Maine. She was also the founding member of a local chanting group and was deeply inspired by the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh and Yogananda. Carol became a devoted member of St. Paul’s Methodist Church in Newport, where on two occasions, she organized “Peace Circles” on First Beach and Washington Square. She was also an active participant in the “Bead For Life” program, which provided avenues for African women to lucratively market their lovely hand-made jewelry.
Before moving with her family to Newport in 1996, Carol was a Secretary of the Board for two school districts in South Jersey. Here in RI, she worked for the builder Mark Horan, for the Newport Restaurant Group, at the University of Rhode Island and lastly as office manager for the Heffenreffer Museum in Bristol.
Of all the qualities that distinguished Carol as a beautiful being, it was her love of family, her deep spiritual faith and her aspiration that the world could indeed be changed as to be more compassionate, more tolerant, more just. She will be deeply missed by family and more friends than can be enumerated.
A celebration of life will be held at St. Paul’s Methodist Church at 12 Marlborough Street in Newport on Sunday, December 7th at 3:00 P.M., followed by a reception in the church hall.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to Lucy’s Hearth at 19 Valley Road in Middletown, RI (https://www.lucyshearth.org).
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