Carol Joy Carzon

Carol is survived by her husband, Ted Carzon; son, Derek (Betsy Sundholm) Pogirski of Ypsilanti Township; daughter, Kristin (Eric Halverson) Ness of Ann Arbor; and brother, Terry (Teresa) Rupp of Louisville, Kentucky. Carol was preceded in death by her husband, Alex Pogirski, and oldest daughter, Paige Pogirski.

Carol was born at her family home in Schuylkill Haven, PA on December 17, 1935. Her father’s work for the railroads took the family to residences in several small towns; for most of her formative years, they lived in Port Carbon. Carol attended Kutztown University, where she met the love of her life in Biology class. They married on August 11, 1956 in Elkton, Maryland.

The Pogirski family moved to Talas, Turkey for a missionary trip in 1960; their youngest child, Kristin, was born there. Carol shared fond memories of traveling throughout the Middle East during the 5 years that they lived in Turkey. Those experiences fueled the family’s passion for travel. In subsequent years, Carol traveled to every continent except Antarctica.

Carol and Alex returned to the US in 1965 and continued their steadfast pursuit of higher education while raising their family. Always a voracious reader, Carol earned her Masters degree in Library Science from the University of Michigan in 1968 and worked as a Librarian for Livonia Public Schools until 1981. In retirement, she volunteered at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology and the Matthei Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor, as well as the Ringling Museum Library in Sarasota. She was a member of the Bethlehem United Church of Christ from 1965 until her passing.

Years after the tragedy that took her husband and oldest daughter, Carol married Ted Carzon. Sharing a love of travel, they made trips to Greece, Australia, the countries along the Danube River, and Russia, to name just a few. They resided in both Sarasota, Florida and Ann Arbor, Michigan until 2020, when COVID prompted them to return permanently to Michigan.

Carol’s family would like to thank the staff at Brookdale Senior Living as well as Mary (Carzon) Tworek for providing compassionate care and companionship over the last 2½ years.

A private service will be held for the immediate family. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Carol’s memory may be made to the Humane Society of Huron Valley (hshv.org).