Dr. L. Carolyn Pearson (Gooch) passed from her earthly life after a three-year battle with Cancer on January 10, 2016 at her home in Little Rock, Arkansas. She was 55. Born June 30th 1960 in Louisville, KY to Elmer and Pauline Gooch, who predeceased her, she is survived by her husband of 33 years, William "Bill" Pearson, daughter and son-in-law Jessica and Jon Weiser of Texarkana, TX, sister Colleen McNutt (Ronnie) of Pace, FL, brothers Gary Gooch (Linda) of Pace, FL, and Mark Gooch of Louisville, KY.
Carolyn had a long and distinguished career as an educator, statistician, and mentor. A graduate of the University of South Florida, Carolyn earned a BA in Health Education, MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and a PhD in Educational Measurement and Evaluation studying with Dr. Lou Carey. Dr. Pearson taught high school science in Florida before a 25- year career in higher education where she taught educational research, evaluation, and statistics achieving the rank of Professor at the University of West Florida from 1991-2004 and at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock from 2004-2016. Some of her many accolades include faculty excellence awards in teaching, research, and service at UALR along with the prestigious Teaching Incentive Award (TIP) for excellence in teaching at UWF. With over 100 professional presentations and 50 peer-reviewed research articles, Carolyn served as editor of the Journal of Educational Research in the later years of her career.
Though widely known for her professional accomplishments, Carolyn was equally if not more dedicated to her love of animals, in particular her horses Jack and James, dog Lucy, grand-dog Ryne, and cats Jack and Coco. Her hobbies included gardening, horse trail riding, and tending to the everyday tasks at her ranch in western Pulaski County.

Per Carolyn's request, no formal service will be held. Memorial contributions may be made to the Gilleland and Pearson Research and Publication scholarship fund at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (ualr.edu/giving/product/you-select/), the Pulaski County Humane Society (warmhearts.org), or the American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org). For more information contact Bill Pearson (bpearson3@att.net).