By Theresia Titus
Corpus Christi College Bateman bid farewell to their leader of 11 years when Caroline Payne passed away on 26 March.
Gemma Wooltorton, Deputy Principal – Ministry at Corpus Christi College and a very close friend of Mrs Payne for more than 25 years, shared some poignant memories of her dear friend.
“I met her through one of my close friends who had been a colleague of hers at Bunbury Catholic College,” Ms Wooltorton said.
“I had the privilege of working with Caroline for three terms in 2009 at Kolbe Catholic College just before she moved to Corpus and then three terms in 2019 at Corpus.”
Ms Wooltorton mentioned that Mrs Payne was a person of “deep faith and spirituality who found comfort in her relationship with God”.
“She was a visionary in terms of Catholic education and was a change agent”, Ms Wooltorton said.
“Caroline was stoic and resilient, especially through adversity. She had deep compassion and would always listen and hear a person’s story. She would say ‘there is always someone doing it harder’.”
Ms Wooltorton also described Mrs Payne as “a no-nonsense person who expected that a person was professional, honest and open”.
“Caroline’s story impacted on me because there was such a mixed culture in her life and hearing her story helped to understand who she was as a person, a leader, a friend, a mother. We shared a lot about aging parents and how we juggled this with our work and home life. Caroline was a compassionate, faith-filled, wise woman who loved,” she reflected.
“Her passion for education, her joy for teaching, her deep faith and her wisdom will always be special to us here at Corpus and I feel privileged to have worked with her.
“She was someone who championed those who might not be able to defend themselves or needed support. She always said: ‘that students /person has a story and they’ve turned the corner and repaid me a hundredfold’,” she continued.
For Ms Wooltorton, watching West Coast Eagles beat Collingwood at AFL Grand final at Optus stadium in 2018 with Mrs Payne was a memory she will always cherish.
“We were at a table with eight strangers but all had a common interest in watching the game on the screen and cheering our team on. A bonus was that we won. It was a great day,” Ms Wooltorton recalled.
“Spending time with Caroline and her husband Michael and other mutual friends reminiscing on life, laughing, crying and realising how lucky we all were to have each other in our lives. We didn’t live in each other’s pocket but when we caught up to socialise it was special.”
One of the many legacies Mrs Payne had at the College is the “the beautiful, state of the art” theatre which opened in 2019 just before she took sick leave.
“Caroline passionately championed many aspects of education including the Arts, using technology to enhance teaching and the drive to be a lifelong learner,” Ms Wooltorton said.
“She developed a vision for the professional learning community of Corpus. She continually challenged staff to grow, hone their skills, develop their pedagogy and reflect on their practice. Her wisdom, clarity and understanding of whatever it is that we would be discussing personally, as a leadership team or in a group [will be dearly missed].
“I will also miss her challenges – as she was good at keeping my feet firmly on the ground, and the wink she gave across the table at a meeting or while talking with others,” she concluded.