Caroline Britton, owner of the Bishop Arts District’s longest running shop, O’Lines Salon, passed away November 9 after a battle with cancer that lasted nearly five years.

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Caroline, or Oline to her friends and customers, has been a CliffDweller for her entire life. Jill Fabian met Oline in junior high at TW Brown, and their friendship spanned 40 years, including participating in a book club together over the past six years.

“Oline had the ability to make everyone feel at ease. She always put others first,” Fabian says. “And Oline loved the holidays. Any opportunity to cook and entertain with her family and friends was always a time when Oline shined.”

Doreen Williams moved into Oak Cliff in 1979 and became fast friends with her neighbor across the street, Oline. “We spent many pleasant evenings sitting on each other’s porch, and Caroline was always dreaming about opening her own salon,” explains Williams. The two became business partners, Williams doing the books and Caroline doing the hair, and the dream became a reality in the fall of 1985 with the opening of O’Line’s in the Bishop Arts District.

Williams commented that Oline had a way of making everyone feel special. “I would often refer friends to Caroline to have their haircut, and inevitably, after spending just a few hours with my old friends, Caroline would report back to me something that I never knew about my friends. She made everyone feel so comfortable, they just couldn’t help but open up to her,” Williams shares.

The memorial service honoring Caroline at Kessler Park United Methodist Church was packed, a testament to the years of involvement in the community and the many friends she touched with her life. The reception that followed the service was held at her Bishop Arts salon, and was crowded with friends and family paying tribute to a woman who loved the outdoors, gardening and her children.