‘A giving, selfless spirit’: Mass. man mourns wife who died while hiking at Purgatory Chasm
Updated: 6:33 AM EDT Apr 25, 2025
HE WANTS TO SHARE HIS WHOLE STORY. JEN. ADAM MARIA MICHAEL SINGER, REMEMBERS HIS WIFE AS SOMEONE WHO WAS LOVING AND KIND AND HAD A HEART TO HELP OTHERS. SHE’S AN AMAZING, AMAZING HUMAN. MICHAEL SINGER HAS A LIFE FULL OF MEMORIES TO SHARE ABOUT HIS WIFE, CARRIE. SHE WAS THE BRIGHTNESS AND THE AND THE LIGHT ON THE DARK DAY FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE. MICHAEL AND CARRIE WERE SET TO CELEBRATE THEIR 20TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY THIS SEPTEMBER. THE COUPLE, FALLING IN LOVE IN COLLEGE AND HAVING FOUR CHILDREN TOGETHER. TONIGHT, WEARING ONE OF CARRIE’S SHIRTS, HE’S HOLDING CLOSE THE LOVE THEY SHARED. THE KIDS AND I HAVE JUST BEEN TALKING ABOUT HER. I PRINTED UP SOME PICTURES AND AND JUST TELLING STORIES. WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, A HIKE AT PURGATORY CHASM IN SUTTON TURNED INTO TRAGEDY. CARRIE ACCIDENTALLY FALLING 50 TO 75FT FROM A CLIFF. THREE OF HER FOUR CHILDREN AT HER SIDE, CALLING 911 JUST BECAUSE SHE’S NOT PHYSICALLY HERE DOESN’T MEAN SHE’S. SHE’S GONE. CARRIE’S LEGACY LIVES WITHIN THE COMMUNITY. SHE WAS A LONGTIME ONCOLOGY NURSE AND HAD JUST REACHED HER DREAM OF OPENING A WELLNESS CENTER IN TOPSFIELD. SHE’S A GREAT ASSET TO THIS COMMUNITY. VERY SAD. AND SO WE LOST OUR, YOU KNOW, GOOD FRIEND. A GOFUNDME HAS BEEN SET UP FOR THE FAMILY ALREADY RAISING TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. ABSOLUTELY BLOWN ME AWAY. I JUST. I, I DON’T I JUST I CAN’T SAY THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY ENOUGH. IN 2016, CHANNEL 5 CONNECTED WITH THE FAMILY AS PART OF A HOME BASED SPECIAL TO HELP VETERANS LIKE CARRIE’S HUSBAND, WHO SURVIVED A SNIPER’S BULLET IN IRAQ. IT’S NOT AN EXAGGERATION TO SAY THAT SHE SAVED MY LIFE. I HAD SOME SOME REALLY, REALLY DARK DAYS, AND SHE HELPED ME GET INTO THERAPY. MICHAEL, SHARING A MESSAGE TONIGHT OF LOVE THROUGH HIS GRIEF. HUG YOUR KIDS. TELL THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU THAT YOU LOVE THEM. IF YOU DO, NONE OF IT’S GUARANTEED. MICHAEL TELLS ME THE OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT FROM FAMILY, FRIENDS AND COMPLETE STRANGERS ARE GETTING HIS FAMILY THROUGH THIS VERY HARD
Michael Sanger has a life full of memories to share about his wife, Carolyn Sanger.”She’s an amazing, amazing human,” Sanger said. “She was the brightness and the light on a dark day for a lot of people.” Carrie, 49, was hiking with three of her four children on Wednesday afternoon when she fell to her death from a cliff at Purgatory Chasm State Reservation in Sutton, the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office said. Michael and Carrie were set to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary in September. The couple met in college, fell in love, and had four children. On Thursday evening, WCVB spoke to Sanger, who wore one of his wife’s shirts, holding close the love they shared.”The kids and I have been talking about her, printed out some pictures, and telling stories,” Sanger said. “Just because she’s not physically here doesn’t mean she’s gone.”Carrie’s legacy lives in the community as a long-time oncology nurse. She had just reached her dream of opening a wellness center in her community. A GoFundMe has been set up for the family, already raising nearly $80,000 as of Thursday evening.In 2016, WCVB connected with the Sanger family as part of a Home Base special to help veterans like Carrie’s husband, who survived a sniper’s bullet in Iraq.”It’s not an exaggeration to say that she saved my life,” Sanger said. “I had some really dark days and she helped me get into therapy.”Michael shared a message of love through his grief.”Hug your kids,” Sanger said. “Tell the people around you that you love them if you do.”
TOPSFIELD, Mass. —Michael Sanger has a life full of memories to share about his wife, Carolyn Sanger.
“She’s an amazing, amazing human,” Sanger said. “She was the brightness and the light on a dark day for a lot of people.”
Carrie, 49, was hiking with three of her four children on Wednesday afternoon when she fell to her death from a cliff at Purgatory Chasm State Reservation in Sutton, the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office said.
Michael and Carrie were set to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary in September.
The couple met in college, fell in love, and had four children.
On Thursday evening, WCVB spoke to Sanger, who wore one of his wife’s shirts, holding close the love they shared.
“The kids and I have been talking about her, printed out some pictures, and telling stories,” Sanger said. “Just because she’s not physically here doesn’t mean she’s gone.”
Carrie’s legacy lives in the community as a long-time oncology nurse. She had just reached her dream of opening a wellness center in her community.
A GoFundMe has been set up for the family,
already raising nearly $80,000 as of Thursday evening.In 2016, WCVB connected with the Sanger family as part of a Home Base special to help veterans like Carrie’s husband, who survived a sniper’s bullet in Iraq.
“It’s not an exaggeration to say that she saved my life,” Sanger said. “I had some really dark days and she helped me get into therapy.”
Michael shared a message of love through his grief.
“Hug your kids,” Sanger said. “Tell the people around you that you love them if you do.”
