Carol Hitchens Jorden was born December 6, 1939, in New Castle, Delaware to her parents Alice (Cohee) and W. Reese Hitchens. She passed away peacefully on December 9, 2025, in Redding, Connecticut. Carol graduated from Mount Pleasant High School in Wilmington, Delaware in 1957, where she was a stellar student, a cheerleader, and active in school clubs. Known as "Hitch" to her friends at Dickinson College, she graduated magna cum laude in 1961 with a B.A. in Mathematics. Carol started her career in the 1960s as a computer programmer for Philco and IBM (in the punch card programming era).  After a long pause to raise two children, she went back to school and worked in computer programming and system design at various consulting firms, including Booze Allen and Coopers & Lybrand. Among many other large-scale projects, she worked on the redesign the U.S. Postal Service systems in the 1980's. Carol spent most of her life in northern Virginia, where she enjoyed spending time with family and her dogs and playing tennis and golf.  She was a loving mother who successfully navigated the challenges of parenting her teenage kids and maintaining a demanding career.

Carol is survived by her children, Stephen (Tricia) Jorden of Farmington, Connecticut, Kathryn "Kit" (Peter) Meyer, of Pelham, New York, a sister, Patricia "Patsy" Shaver, of Tampa, Florida, grandchildren Peter, Molly, Christopher, Graham, Sarah and Quentin, and many nephews and nieces of whom she was very fond.

Carol spent the final years of her life at the Ridge Crest health center at Meadow Ridge, Redding, Connecticut, surrounded by wonderful and caring staff.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory to either of the following would honor Carol's wishes:

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Pl., Memphis, TN 38105, stjude.org

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, aspca.org