Dr. Cara Snyder, faculty emerita in literature with Dallas Christian College, sent us this remembrance of her former students and longtime friends and colleagues Mark and Caroline Worley, who both died of cancer during 2022, Mark on Aug. 24 and Caroline on Oct. 26. Mark Worley served more than 40 years with DCC, most recently as vice president of advancement. Caroline Worley also served in many roles with DCC, most recently as chair of the college’s education department.
_ _ _
By Dr. Cara Snyder
Mark and Caroline Worley—we miss them so much!
For over 40 years they served DCC in any capacity they were called on to do—and in many cases they served not because they were asked, but because something needed to be done . . . like staying in the office well into the evening to help a student figure out their next step in life or to finish submitting a 50-page form that the Texas Education Agency had suddenly dumped on certification programs. (All those office snacks they famously kept no doubt many times served as supper.)
This past summer, when they both realized their future had taken such a drastic turn, Caroline talked a lot about legacy; she comprehended its huge importance. She and Mark had suddenly become very dependent on their children, a difficult realization but one which they accepted gratefully. Caroline was so proud of the way Kyle, Zach, and Aimee were assuming their new roles. (God bless you, Worley kids.) But not to be missed, Mark and Caroline Worley’s legacy of a lifetime of Christian ministry and teaching is an example that should inspire us all.
I met Mark and Caroline in 1972 when we all convened at DCC, they as students and I as novice teacher. I remember them vividly—Mark with his unruly dark hair and somewhat rebellious attitude and Caroline with her long dark hair and beautiful smile.
Caroline was secure in her faith, but Mark was wrestling with his. Fortunately, Mark was so bored in my English class one day that he got out his Bible to read, starting with the one-chapter books, and discovered that it was “pretty good.” Praise God! With God’s help, Mark got back in line with the legacy he had been raised in—not because it was his legacy, but because it was now his own faith. He became a student of Scripture and a servant of Christ.
By their junior year, Mark and Caroline were married, and that year Mark began directing and writing skits for the school’s drama group. How many skits and plays for SALTeens and choir tours did he end up writing over the years? Thirty or more? And he and Caroline both continued to sing in choirs and in various ensembles their whole four years, participating in many weekend trips, including the one that threw Mark into preaching for the first time when a substitute preacher was suddenly needed. That experience opened him up to the joy of preaching the gospel.
After DCC, Mark and Caroline headed to ministry in Midland, Texas, and Caroline proceeded with her education as a teacher and reading specialist. And then they were called back to DCC.
Most of this is pretty common knowledge among the DCC community. For 41 years they served both DCC and the Greater Dallas area. The presence of World Impact in Dallas goes back to Mark’s vision and efforts serving in the inner-city. DCC’s mentoring program is another of his efforts, along with the many short-term mission trips that he and Caroline both oversaw and participated in.
Caroline’s contribution in getting DCC’s education program up and running is inestimable, including the alternative certification ACCESS programs that were held for many summers.
More important than these things, however, are that, day in and day out, Mark and Caroline carried out the ministries that God had called them to do. As the celebration services for the Worleys at Compass Christian Church so clearly demonstrated, they have both left a legacy of disciples of Jesus who are preaching, teaching, and serving in all kinds of ways.
When I look at the lives of Mark and Caroline Worley, I thank God for them and for the pleasure I have had to work with them all these years. They committed their lives wholeheartedly to Jesus and did their best to let him work through them.
Their legacy speaks for itself.
Dr. Cara Snyder, faculty emerita in literature, has taught at Dallas Christian College for more than 50 years.
Thank you Cara for sharing the Worley’s journey with us.
Darel
May their tribe increase. The Kingdom has been blessed by so many with the same sacrificial service as you have shown here. I pray that it will continue.