Caroline Plyler, wife of NAL/PAA/DL Capt. Dwight Plyler

 

~ IN MEMORY ~

Caroline Plyler, wife of NAL/PAA/DL Capt. Dwight Plyler

October 23, 1940 ~ February 28, 2026

 

PCN memorial site

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/thebrunswicknews/name/caroline-plyler-obituary?pid=210995936 

Caroline Plyler Obituary

Caroline Whitehead Plyler died peacefully on Feb. 28, 2026, after a courageous battle against Parkinson's disease, surrounded by family on St. Simons Island.

Born Oct. 23, 1940, in Cuthbert, Caroline grew up in Blakely, where she was the second of three children of Dr. Earnest Pace Whitehead Sr. and Mary Grist Whitehead.

Caroline, the 1956 Early County Peanut Queen, graduated from Early County High School before attending the University of Georgia where she was a member of Chi Omega sorority and graduated with a B.A. in English Literature.

During her time in Athens, Caroline met the love of her life, Dwight Moody Plyler Jr., whom she married in 1963. After Dwight completed Naval Flight School in Pensacola, Florida, they were stationed in Texas, Florida, and Maine before settling in Coral Gables, Florida, where Dwight began his commercial aviation career with National Airlines. Caroline spent her time actively living in Coral Gables where she was a member of Beaux Arts at the Lowe Art Museum, the Junior League of Miami, the Riviera Country Club, Coral Gables United Methodist Church and served on the Board of Trustees at Palmer Trinity School. Caroline had many dear friends there and relished the colorful cosmopolitan life of Miami.

After raising their children Mary Ouida and Dwight III, Caroline and Dwight relocated with Pan American Airways to West Berlin, Germany, in 1986. During their five years in Berlin, they witnessed firsthand the fall of the Berlin Wall while traveling extensively throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia. For the remainder of her life, Caroline cherished the many close friendships developed within the Pan Am and Berlin communities.

Shortly after their return to the United States, Caroline and Dwight moved to St. Simons Island, followed by many close friends from south Florida (the Miami Mafia) establishing a mini-Miami coterie on the island. After moving to St. Simons, she became a member of the Junior League of the Golden Isles, Cherokee Garden Club, St. Simons Presbyterian Church and Sea Island Club.

 

Caroline was an avid bridge player and during her time living on St. Simons, she ultimately achieved the level of Bronze Life Master.

Tall, blonde, stylish, famously beautiful and always the best dressed and bejeweled, Caroline was also a superb cook. She honed her legendary lifelong hospitality skills as a woman who, with equal ease, could throw a large glamorous candlelit dinner party or a spontaneous magazine-worthy picnic after trekking to the ruins of an old German castle. From elaborate international concoctions to the simplest Southern fare, nothing was too challenging.

Caroline is survived by Dwight, her husband of 63 years; daughter, Mary Ouida Plyler of Miami; son, Dwight Moody Plyler III (Anna) of Atlanta; grandchildren, Patricia and Monica Vega and Caroline and Elizabeth Plyler; great-granddaughter, Gigi Tomlin; and brother, James Grist Whitehead (Stephanie). She was preceded in death by her brother, Earnest Pace Whitehead Jr.

Caroline's family would like to extend their loving gratitude to Caroline's caregivers, Veronica Cain and Lachelle James, who were with her over the final 18 months of her life.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that Caroline's memory be honored with a donation to the Georgia Chapter of the American Parkinson's Disease Association:

https://www.apdaparkinson.org/community/georgia/ways-give-ga/donate/

A family burial service will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 5 in Blakely, followed by a celebration of life with family and friends at 2 p.m. March 9 at St. Simons Presbyterian Church.

Family-placed obituary

The Brunswick News, March 4, 2026