Obit: Ayers, Carol J. #2 (1934 - 2017)
Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail:
dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Ayers, Skar, Thompson, Jacoby, Henning
----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 1/11/2017
Ayers, Carol Jean (23 February 1934 – 6 January 2017)
Carol Ayers died Jan. 6, 2017 of heart and kidney failure. She was 82 years old.
Carol Jean (Thompson) Ayers was born Feb. 23, 1934, one of seven children raised
in Neillsville by Forest and Isabelle (Skar) Thompson. Growing up during World
War II, Carol was part of the gang of neighborhood kids who formed the 32nd
Division of 9th Street and played army among the rocks of O’Neill Creek. At
eight years, she was formally inducted into their Nurses Corps and “tended the
wounded” with tiny doses of brown sugar – a rare and rationed item in that era.
In high school, Carol leaned Latin, played French horn and graduated
valedictorian of her class in 1952. She became a registered nurse and began her
career at Luther hospital in Eau Claire. In 1956, Carol married Donald Ayers, a
childhood friend and neighbor from East 9th Street. They raised three children.
As the family grew and moved, she continued her vocation in Tomah, Superior,
Spooner and Neillsville. She was a compassionate nurse, and loyal caregiver,
dedicating over a decade to care for her own again parents later in life back on
East 9th Street.
Carol is survived, by three children all living in Alaska: James, Jean, and
Darrel; two grandchildren: Patrick in Athens, Georgia, and Tiffany in Fairbanks,
Alaska; and one great-granddaughter, Anya, in Fairbanks, Alaska. She is also
survived by two sisters and a brother: Dorothy Jacoby, Marie Henning, and Glenn
Thompson, all of Neillsville, as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Carol is preceded in death by her parents, Forest, and Isabelle, and three
brothers: Norman Thompson (Neillsville); Charles Thompson (Eau Claire) and
Phillip Thompson (Rockford, IL).
Carol was a kind, generous and gentle spirit – with a fierce faith. She was
devoted to family, friends, and God, and her home was open to all, the dining
room bursting with people sipping coffee, playing cards, dice, or board games.
She enjoyed reading, bird-watching, singing, gardening, crossword, and jigsaw
puzzles. Carol exemplified the qualities of the “Greatest Generation” –
integrity, strength of character, can-do, make-do attitude, and humor, and
compassion in the face of adversity. She will be dearly missed.
Services will be held on Jan. 13, 2017 at 11 a.m. in the Bible Baptist Church in
Neillsville. A Marker and ashes will be placed in the Columbia Cemetery in the
summer or fall. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the American
Heart Association, Disabled American Vets, or the Clark County Humane Society.
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