Carol June Kelly
June 18, 1932 - December 17, 2022
Obituary
Carol June (Kuechle) Kelly passed away on December 17, 2022, in Seattle, Washington.
Carol was born in 1932 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Eleanor and Walter Kuechle. She is preceded in death by her parents; her older brother, John; and her husband, Kent.
Carol grew up in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Faith was a core value of the family and Carol attended parochial Lutheran schools through middle school before transferring to Wauwatosa High School. Carol’s intellect and discipline garnered her the spot of the top female graduate in her class, placing in the top ten graduates. Although Carol met her future husband, Kent, in their high school homeroom, the two did not begin dating until they were both in undergrad at University of Wisconsin. While at U of W, Carol joined the Alpha Xi Delta sorority, where she served as Treasurer and later as House President. It was here that she created life-long friendships with seven of her sorority sisters. After college, these eight women participated in a “round-robin” letter, which would continue to chronicle their changing lives for over 50 years! In 1954, she graduated with a degree from the U of W School of Education with a B.S. in English and History. For the first two years after college, Carol taught English at Jefferson High School in Jefferson, Wisconsin.
In 1956, she and Kent married and began their 64 years of life together. After they married, Carol and Kent moved to Arlington, Virginia, where Kent was in the Air Force in D.C. and Carol studied the Russian language and worked in the National Security Agency.
When Kent’s service was completed in 1957, the young couple moved to Rochester, Michigan, where Kent began his 40-year groundbreaking career at GM as an aerodynamic engineer. Carol settled into her role of gifted homemaker, and put her energy and intelligence into raising three sons and a daughter. She spent hours reading to her small children and inspired a love of the English language in each of them. She was an active and involved mom and loved to join her children in outdoor fun, whether it be sledding, skiing, riding bikes or swimming. A member of the Lutheran Church, she sang in church choirs for over 50 years. She instilled this love of music into her children and the Kelly household was usually filled with the music of various instruments being practiced. Carol was generous with her skills and time, serving as President of the school’s PTA and later for the Band Boosters, as well as accumulating over 3,500 hours as a hospital auxiliary member and eventually serving as Volunteer Chairman. Anyone who knew Carol also knew that she was the penultimate cookie baker, and holidays were filled with envious plates of delicious cookies and candy.
In 1986, Carol and Kent bought a home on the shore of Little Glen Lake, at the foot of the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes. Carol spent many happy summer weeks there, while Kent commuted on weekends from Rochester. After Kent’s retirement from GM in 1997, they moved to this beloved house full-time, and spent the next 20 years enjoying the lovely location and close-knit community of neighbors. Carol’s carefully kept journal of the visitors to their house is a testament to the happy times there that were shared by many. Some of Carol’s favorite memories were spending summer days with various friends or family members, swimming, sailing, waterskiing and then relaxing together. On overcast days, ever the optimist who wanted to be outside, Carol would peer out the window and declare “I think it is getting brighter!” Carol loved to do a daily swim by herself, up and down the shore in front of the house. She stayed active in the Glen Lake Women’s Club, as well as serving as Vice President of her local church, where she also sang in the choir. During these years, Carol’s circle of sorority sisters and their spouses began meeting up for reunions at each other’s houses all over the country. In addition, Kent and Carol did many driving trips of their own, as well as enjoying small ship cruises to Alaska.
In 2016, Carol and Kent moved to the Cedar Creek Commons in Traverse City, where they enjoyed making a new community of friends. Carol was never without a crossword to puzzle over during breakfast and her love of words won her the title of Senior Spelling Bee Champion in Traverse City, an award she cherished.
After Kent passed away in 2020, Carol made the brave decision to leave everything familiar in Michigan and move to Seattle, to be close to her youngest son, Pete, and daughter, Megan. She moved into a beautiful apartment in an independent senior living community just minutes from her daughter. Carol quickly made new friends and adjusted to life in the Pacific Northwest. She was a whiz at Group Crossword, and a daily rider of the exercise bikes. A lover of linguistics to the end, she worked on daily crosswords and Wordle, and the week she died, she finally achieved the elusive “Queen Bee” status which represents a perfect score on the New York Times Spelling Bee game.
During her last years, Carol’s nightly prayers ended with the wish that “despite my physical limitations, I may still be able to be a blessing to others.” Those who knew Carol know that she WAS a blessing to others. She will be remembered for her big heart, her quiet fierce pride of her four children and her husband, her sharp intellect, her smile and her eternal gentle optimism and cheer.
In honor of our beloved mother, please practice a random act of kindness today in her memory.
Carol is survived by her son Brian and wife, Nancy, of Lansing, MI; son Philip of Rochester, MI; son Peter, of Seattle; and daughter Megan and partner James Harding, of Seattle, as well as four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Tribute contributions can be made either to Hospice of Michigan, Traverse City Chapter or to Doctors Without Borders.
A celebration of life will be planned for the summer of 2023.
Please share a memory with Carol’s family by visiting her tribute page at www.bonneywatson.com/obituaries. The Bonney Watson Funeral Home and Cremation Services is serving the family.
This is such a beautiful testament to an incredible woman. Some of my favorite memories of her are discussing countless books over the years, and going for boat rides and swims on Little Glen. That and, “I think it’s sunny in the front yard!” Her optimism and kindness will be remembered.
To Megan and family,
It was a privilege to be counted among the many friends of Carol and Kent.
We moved in next door to them on Freer Rd in Rochester, Mich. in 1970 when our younger daughter, Heather, was 9 days old. Afternoon coffee and cookies with Carol, after putting our kindergartener (Erin) and their first grader (Megan) on the school bus, was a treat for me as a young mother. Carol’s recipe for Swedish Brownies is still a staple in our home, especially at Christmas.
After a number of moves and life changes, we found ourselves all in Leelanau County where we enjoyed visits on the deck at Glen Lake and dinners around the area. Fred and Kent never ran out of “car talk”. We greatly miss their company.
I’m forever grateful to Carol and Kent for welcoming me into their family. They were kind, loving and generous. I have so many fond memories with them, especially my time at Glen Lake – relaxing on the hammock, happy hour on the boat, playing games (no surprise Carol usually won Scrabble!) and S’mores by the firepit (Carol always had a supply of S’mores and her famous cookies on hand). Carol was a huge blessing in my life and I miss her dearly.
Carol was a neighbor of mine for just a short time before she moved. She was a delightful person, wonderful neighbor, and always thinking of something fun to talk about. The Happy Hour at Cedar Creek Commons in Michigan has missed her since the move. Now, she will be in our thoughts forever.