Carla Lucille Faust, age 19 years, of Franklin Township, Hunterdon County, NJ, died suddenly on Monday, November 25, 2019 as the result of injuries sustained in a street train accident in Edingen-Neckarhausen, Baden Wurttemberg, Germany, where she had been studying abroad as a sophomore with The College of New Jersey.

Born in Red Bank, NJ, July 22, 2000, she was the daughter of Christopher Rolf and Lynn Marie Verity Faust and was a lifelong area resident.

Graduating from North Hunterdon Regional High School, where she was a proud Lion in 2018, she happily accepted her admittance to the College of New Jersey where she felt she could best pursue her passion for obtaining knowledge about the world, its inhabitants, and beyond.

From her birth, Carla was the inquisitive child; always asking a hundred questions about everything and anything in an effort to understand why and how they worked, and their place and purpose in the world.

The Franklin Township school system and High School at North provided Carla a foundation where she could express who she was and learn and grow at the same time. In high school, she was known as the girl who would walk the halls saying hi to everyone-from the most popular to those who were more shy-Carla befriended everyone as she always saw the beauty in a person.

Playing sports were also fundamental in her development. She played volleyball as well as participated in track and field where she threw the javelin, discus and shot put. Very competitive, she was always grounded in true sportsmanship and made many friends from competing schools.

She was also part of the ski club, enjoying many trips over the years and she was proud to assist each year with the Special Olympics. Her civic activities also saw her attaining the Gold Award from the Girl Scouts. She built and installed an information kiosk as well as bluebird houses at the Elvin W. Georges Grassland Preserve in Franklin Township as her project which is still enjoyed by many to this day.

Carla was very intelligent, taking several AP courses and always realizing the importance and value of getting good grades. It was as a freshman at North where Carla, after studying Spanish for eight years, decided she wanted to try the German language, wanting to learn more about her German and Swedish heritage. This introductory class led to a new awakening for Carla who then would do a study abroad in her sophomore year. Her determination led her to advance extremely fast and she attained her “bilingual proficiency” certificate by the time she was a senior.

Going to TCNJ was a step that allowed Carla to flourish as her own woman but also still be near to her family, who was always extremely important to her. She was currently majoring in Business with a double minor in German and Information Systems. Her language skills were so advanced that she became an oral proficiency leader in German as a freshman at TCNJ, an honor usually not attained until junior year.

In late August, she went, through TCNJ, to the European Studies Center in Germany to help her language skills as well as to learn more about the history and culture of not only Germany, but of the world. In her short time there, she not only made friends from around the world, but used her free time to truly immerse herself in everything art, architecture, history, language, and culture of every place she visited.

Family and friends were the light of Carla’s life, and no matter her travels, they were always with her; FaceTime was a regular ritual as was other social media outlets in which they could be a part of her adventures and she a part of theirs. It was just in the beginning of November that her parents and her “twinsie” sister, Christina, two years her junior, traveled to Germany to spend several amazing days with Carla exploring and making memories.

Anyone who met Carla will remember her strong confidence and zest for all things new and adventurous. She was the one who would always give the shirt off her back to help anyone in need and was always looking to ensure everyone was having a good time.

From bon-fires to camping, skiing to fishing, the beach and boating, and trips to see family on Long Island, Carla enjoyed anything she was doing. She had a way of making simple things vibrant and her skill at the art of conversation helped anyone to be comfortable in her presence.

Her motto of “Living your best life” is one that should inspire everyone to seize the day and cherish relationships, not items. In her senior year of high school pottery class, Carla made a piece of pottery that had a rock jetty and lighthouse, on which she inscribed the quote, “Many people spend too much time trying to be the Captain. Be the lighthouse.”

Though the years surrounding Carla’s ‘dash’, that of her birth and of her passing, are too close for anyone to comprehend, the fact remains that her light can never, ever be extinguished. In her short nineteen years, she surely was the lighthouse not only for herself, but for all with whom she came into contact. If you want to honor Carla, please live your best life each and every day, and let your own light shine to help make this world a better place.

She was preceded in death by her maternal grandmother, Charlene McWherter Verity; and her paternal grandfather, Carl Faust.

Surviving, in addition to her parents and her sister, are her paternal grandmother, Inge Faust; her maternal grandfather, Harry Verity; her aunts and uncles, Teresa and Christopher Foley, Patricia and John Schindler, Carl and Diane Faust, and Christian Faust; several extended family around the world; and many dear friends.

Carla will lie in repose on Thursday, December 12, 2019 from 1:00-6:00 p.m. in the Chapel of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ 08822. As she loved this time of year because it brought people together, in lieu of flowers, everyone attending the visitation is kindly asked to bring an ornament to be place on a Christmas tree which will be next to Carla’s casket. You will also have the opportunity to write a note and hang it on the tree at the funeral home as well.

Following the gathering, all are invited to continue to celebrate Carla’s life and legacy at the Quakertown Fire Company, 67 Quakertown Road, Pittstown, NJ 08867. If you are unable to make it to the funeral home, please stop by and break bread with the family as Carla would want family and friends to be together at this time.

Life celebration services and cremation at the Chapel of Ewing Crematory, Ewing Township, NJ, will take place privately with the immediate family.

Please visit Carla’s permanent memorial site at www.wrightfamily.com to light a memorial candle, leave messages of condolence, share words of comfort and recollection, and post photographs of her life.

In honor of Carla’s fierce hunger for knowledge, a scholarship has been created at TCNJ. Please visit the online donation page by clicking HERE and select “Carla Faust Memorial Scholarship” from the “Designation” drop down menu just below where you put in the amount of the donation. If you prefer to make your contribution via mail, please make the check payable to “TCNJ Foundation-Carla Faust Scholarship Endowment” and mail to: TCNJ Foundation, P.O. Box 7718, Ewing, NJ 08628-0718. A contribution of any amount will ensure Carla’s legacy lives on and is greatly appreciated by her family.

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Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”