Carolyn Peters Sydow Rogas, a longtime resident of Georgetown and Houston, Texas, passed away peacefully on April 2, 2026, following complications from a recent fall and surgery.
Carolyn was born in Coupland, Texas, on December 23, 1931, where a leather-bound ledger from the local pharmacy still reflects the date and time of her happy arrival. From a young age, Carolyn was helpful, faithful, and committed to serving others – qualities she carried forward and deepened throughout her life as a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, teacher, librarian, passionate volunteer, and gifted organizer.
Carolyn graduated from Giddings High School and later earned both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. She and her husband left the United States with their two young children, Michael and Melanie, to serve as missionaries in Jaguaquara, Bahia, Brazil. In addition to navigating a new culture and establishing a home, Carolyn became fluent in Portuguese – a lifelong gift she treasured. After the birth of their third child, Sylvia, the family returned to Georgetown, Texas, where Carolyn went on to teach high school government for decades. Long after most of her peers had retired, she continued her work in education as an elementary school librarian – a final career chapter that brought together two of the great passions of her life: children and books.
Carolyn was preceded in death by her parents, Edwin W. Peters and Marie Lass Peters Leeder; her brothers, Clarence and Burnis Peters, and their wives, Ruby and Dorothy; her daughter, Melanie Sydow; and her grandson, Christopher Terrell.
She is survived by her son, Michael Sydow and his wife, Jody; her daughter, Sylvia Kerrigan and her husband, Matt; and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren: Kristen Varela and her husband, Andrew, and children, Jonathan Coleman and his wife, Cassie, Gabriel, and Vivian Coleman; David Sydow and his children, Luciana, Victor, and Nicolas; and Matthew Terrell and his daughters, Kylie, Elora, and Courtny.
A deep belief in the power of education and a steadfast commitment to serving others were the defining forces of Carolyn’s life, both rooted in her Christian faith. These principles shaped everything she did – from raising her family, to supporting extended family, to helping anyone (or any animal) in need. We will miss her loving presence, and we will also miss the quiet, steady force for good she was in all our lives.
A celebration of Carolyn’s life will be held on Thursday, April 9, at 1:00 p.m. at Mission Bend United Methodist Church, 3710 Highway 6 South, Houston, Texas 77082.
This obituary was published by Miller Funeral Services – Houston.
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