Carol Jean Skrade

Carol Jean Skrade of Bexley, Ohio died of cancer on January 13, 2023 at age 86 years, ten months. She was born in Ellsworth, Wisc., March 13th, 1936 to the late Irvin R. Anderson and Elizabeth E. (MacArthur) Anderson of St. Paul, Minn. She is preceeded in death by her husband of 59 years, Carl Edward Skrade. She is survived by her sons, Peter and Kristofer (Ivy), and grandchildren Piper, Eli and Annabel. She is survived by her brothers James (Serpil) and Ralph (Ann) Anderson, and sister Mary (Jeff) Carr, as well as cherished extended family. Carol was an alumna of St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn. (B.A., Social Work). She worked briefly for the State of Minnesota as a social worker before meeting and marrying Carl. When her sons were both full-time in elementary school, Carol enrolled in at the Seton Montessori Institute in Chicago to earn teaching credentials as a Montessori classroom teacher. She worked at St. Mary of the Springs Montessori School for several years before moving to St. Joseph (Academy) Montessori School for the remainder of her professional career. While there, she influenced the lives of hundreds of students and served as an anchor for the school, ably training many new Montessori teachers, and was named the school’s Montessori Ambassador in 2013. She adored her time as a teacher at both institutions and received phone calls and personal visits from dozens of grateful alumni far into her later life. Since 2007, Carol had taken particular joy in her grandchildren and close friendships. She was active for most of her adult life politically, volunteering on behalf of her preferred candidates and in drives to ensure voting access for all Americans. She was passionate about her Norwegian American heritage, which she worked to preserve and pass down through her cooking and baking, particularly around holidays, and through her love of Norwegian decor - rosemaling, hand-carved troll and viking figurines, glassware and needlework. She couldn’t allow a Christmas season to pass without making copious amounts of lefse, sandbakkels and krensekake, nor could she resist inflicting potato klub, lutefisk and oyster stew on anyone who came through the door. A coincidence that would certainly have tickled her sense of humor as she sipped her ever-present cup of black coffee, is that she was born on a Friday the 13th and died on a Friday the 13th, too. A memorial service will be held at 7:00 p.m. on February 20th at Hope Lutheran Church, 820 Lilly Ave, Columbus, OH 43205. Memorials preferred to World Children’s Fund.