Cara
Cara Bryn Saylor Polk
d. April 11, 2023
Cara Bryn Saylor Polk passed away on the morning of April 11,2023, from heart failure while asleep in her bed. She was a resident of Legend of Lancaster.
Born in 1943, in Danville, Illinois, Cara grew up in East Petersburg, PA. She graduated from Hempfield High School in Landisville, PA and from Smith College in Northampton, MA. She was awarded a Shubert Playwright Fellowship for an MFA at Villanova University.
Cara devoted her life to the arts. While in college she was a Yale Drama Festival winner as a playwright. She spent several years in New York City acting and modeling before focusing on work as a writer. Notably, she served as head writer for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, scripting the Jerry Lewis Telethon; worked as director of Communications and Development for Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia, where she wrote and directed documentaries; and wrote two published novels,
Images
and
Her Mother’s Daughter.
After her marriage to investigative reporter James R. Polk, she moved to the Washington, DC area then to Marietta, GA, where she applied her talent to writing and directing curriculum-based plays. Her musical “The Legend of Chief Sope” received national recognition by the National Association for Social Studies and she was named educator of the year by Cobb County Historical Society. She was involved in the local community theater, both as a writer and director. She also developed an after-school arts program at her local elementary school. She enjoyed painting and gifted many of her family and friends with her flower people pictures.
Cara was full of whimsey and song and delighted in making others giggle. She is survived by her daughter Abigail, stepson Geoffrey, brother Lee, sister Jo Ellen, nine nieces and nephews and eleven great nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her husband James R. Polk and parents Betty Forney Saylor and Harold M. Saylor
A memorial gathering for family and friends will take place in June.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to American Theater Wing
https://americantheatrewing.org/
or any local non-profit that supports the arts.
Born in 1943, in Danville, Illinois, Cara grew up in East Petersburg, PA. She graduated from Hempfield High School in Landisville, PA and from Smith College in Northampton, MA. She was awarded a Shubert Playwright Fellowship for an MFA at Villanova University.
Cara devoted her life to the arts. While in college she was a Yale Drama Festival winner as a playwright. She spent several years in New York City acting and modeling before focusing on work as a writer. Notably, she served as head writer for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, scripting the Jerry Lewis Telethon; worked as director of Communications and Development for Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia, where she wrote and directed documentaries; and wrote two published novels,
Images
and
Her Mother’s Daughter.
After her marriage to investigative reporter James R. Polk, she moved to the Washington, DC area then to Marietta, GA, where she applied her talent to writing and directing curriculum-based plays. Her musical “The Legend of Chief Sope” received national recognition by the National Association for Social Studies and she was named educator of the year by Cobb County Historical Society. She was involved in the local community theater, both as a writer and director. She also developed an after-school arts program at her local elementary school. She enjoyed painting and gifted many of her family and friends with her flower people pictures.
Cara was full of whimsey and song and delighted in making others giggle. She is survived by her daughter Abigail, stepson Geoffrey, brother Lee, sister Jo Ellen, nine nieces and nephews and eleven great nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her husband James R. Polk and parents Betty Forney Saylor and Harold M. Saylor
A memorial gathering for family and friends will take place in June.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to American Theater Wing
https://americantheatrewing.org/
or any local non-profit that supports the arts.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Cara Bryn Saylor Polk, please visit our flower store.
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