Obituary of Carol Batten Leavell

Carol Batten Leavell, 76, of Princeton, died peacefully on October 2, 2023 at her son’s home in Lawrenceville. She was surrounded by her loving family. Born and raised in Gloucester County, Carol was the oldest of four girls. After graduating from Williamstown High School, she obtained a Bachelor of Science in elementary education at Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky, and then briefly returned to New Jersey to teach first and second grades in Deptford Township. While at Union College, she met her former husband, John R. Leavell, to whom she was married for more than thirty years. After receiving her master’s degree from Union in 1972, Carol continued teaching elementary school in Middlesboro and Nicholas County, Kentucky. In 1988, Carol moved with her family to Charlottesville, Virginia, where she worked as a homemaker and substitute teacher in the Charlottesville school district. She was a devoted member of Charlottesville’s First United Methodist Church, where she taught Sunday school. Carol loved to play the flute and piano, to sew and make crafts, to garden, and to cook and bake. She was a committed vegetarian and animal-lover. For the last ten years of her life, she resided in Princeton. Daughter of the late Warren and Euretha Batten, she is survived by her son Christopher Leavell and husband Joseph Cooper, daughter Ginger Leavell, granddaughters Julia Cooper and Lillian Cooper-Leavell, sister Andrea (Batten) Jennett and husband Ken Jennett, sister Janice Batten, brother-in-law Les Navan, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Carol was preceded in death by her sister, Bonnie (Batten) Navan. Funeral services will be held at noon on Saturday, October 14, 2023 at Trinity Episcopal Church, 33 Mercer Street, Princeton, NJ 08540. All attendees are asked to arrive at the church no later than 11:45AM. A graveside service will follow on Saturday afternoon at 3PM at Bethel United Methodist Church Cemetery, 481 Delsea Dr, Sewell, NJ 08080. There will be no visitation hours prior to the service. Donations in her memory may be made to Princeton Community Housing, at https://www.pchhomes.org.