Carol Jeanne Tornquist

As a four-year-old, she began playing piano by ear, then advanced to formal training including the Warren School of Music during high school and earned her B.S. in Music Education from the State University of New York at Fredonia. During that time, she also studied music in Belgium as part of an exchange student program.

Prior to moving to Nashville, Tennessee in 1975 where her career blossomed, she taught vocal music and was an instructor for the international Yamaha Music School in upstate New York.

Here she established a glowing reputation as an arranger/writer working with numerous publishers including Gaither Music, Paragon, Singspiration, Benson, Brentwood Music, Word and Lifeway. She is credited with hundreds of collections, working with numerous gospel music icons along with artists ranging from Ronnie Milsap to Celtic Woman and Susan Boyle. As an author, she published more than 60 solo piano songbooks through Alfred Music including several on piano methodology.

Ministers of music and worship leaders praised her works as well-crafted, creative and highly accessible. Perhaps the most acclaimed example of her exemplary skills as an interpreter of melody and lyric was her stunning arrangement of “El Shaddai,” written by Michael Card and her brother John Thompson.

While lauded by music industry professionals, she also delighted in teaching piano to children, playing organ at church, entertaining residents at nursing homes—anywhere she could share the joy she radiated in music.

Equal to this enthusiasm was her love of family. She devoted herself to her son Christopher McMillen, his wife Tanya and their four children Maya, Jonah, Luke and Seth who called her Gigi.

A longtime resident of Franklin, Carol is warmly remembered for her thoughtfulness and kindness by her neighbors as well as her circle of friends at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, Graceland Community Church and many other churches in the Nashville area where she visited and shared her musical gifts.

She is survived by her son’s family, her dear friend and companion Jim Bozeman, her two brothers John and Brian, and beloved nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at noon on Wednesday, January 26th at Christ Presbyterian Church located at 2323 Old Hickory Blvd. Nashville, TN 37215. The family will receive friends prior to the service starting at 10:30AM.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Carol’s honor to:

W.O. Smith Music School

P.O. Box 121348

Nashville, TN 37212-1348

Or online:

https://wosmith.kindful.com

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.Brentwood-Roesch-PattonFuneralHome.com for the Tornquist family.