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Anna Carey, the longtime director of New Student Services at Western who started at the university in 1990, passed away on May 14 after a brief bout with pancreatic cancer. She retired in 2015 after 25 years at Western. Her family obituary is . 

Much beloved on campus because of her passion to help students and her incredibly friendly demeanor, the personal reflection below about Carey and what she meant to her friends and the students whose lives she impacted was written by Sherry Mallory, currently the Dean of Student Affairs at UC San Diego.

I first met Anna Carey through our shared professional association, the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (or NASPA). At the time, Anna was in charge of managing details for the 2001 annual conference in Seattle – a role that I held the following year. It was just one of many roles that Anna held in NASPA throughout the years; she also served on countless other regional and annual conference committees, co-chaired the Parent and Family Relations Knowledge Community, was a multi-term member of the NASPA Region V Advisory Board, and co-authored the book Partnering with the Parents of Today's College Students. In 2003, Anna received NASPA Region V Mid-Level Professional Award, in recognition of the work she did with parents and families at Western. In 2006, she received the NASPA Region VI Fred Turner Award for Outstanding Service to NASPA.

A few years after I first met Anna, she stopped me at a conference and told me there was an opening at Western that she thought I would be perfect for. In August 2005, I moved cross-country to start my new role as Special Assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs and Academic Support Services. It was a privilege to work with Anna and see her in action, particularly her passion for welcoming students and families to Western through orientation, convocation, welcome week, family weekends, and the Western Reads program. Anna also served as a Chapter Advisor for Golden Key at Western, participated in the Teaching-Learning Academy, was an active supporter of Western Athletics, and represented Western for many years on the Bellingham-Whatcom County Commission Against Domestic Violence.

I – like many, many others – am reeling from Anna’s loss. No one was a stranger in Anna’s world. Once, when we were having dinner in Philadelphia, she began talking to an older couple at a table next to ours; by the end of dinner, they offered to take us on a tour and show us their favorite sites in the city. Anna was always willing to help and made sure everyone around her felt well taken care of. During my time at Western, she was my family away from family… a role she served for many others. Friends and former colleagues have described Anna as “witty,” “vibrant,” “generous,” a “bright star,” a “beautiful soul” and “a fantastic professional” who “truly exemplified selflessness and passion.”

She will never be forgotten by all whose lives she touched.