Carolyn King Mikeska

Carolyn King Mikeska, peacefully passed away in Houston, Texas on October 2, 2021, the morning of her 95th birthday. She was born on October 2, 1926, in her family home at 1418 Arlington St., in the historic Houston Heights.

Carolyn graduated from Jefferson Davis High School and then studied for three years at Southwest Texas State Teachers College in San Marcos, TX. Upon returning to Houston, she began working in banking and soon ended up at Texas National Bank where she met her husband, Raymond Mikeska Jr. Carolyn and Raymond were married on May 29, 1951, in Houston, TX. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Washington state, living in Spokane and Moses Lake where Raymond was stationed in the Air Force and Carolyn continued her banking career. During this time, their first son, Richard, was born at Fairchild AFB in Spokane. They returned to Houston in 1953, and the next year, their youngest son, Paul, was born. Once her sons were older, Carolyn spent several years as a substitute teacher. She loved her job and her students and kept a photo album of their pictures for the remainder of her life.

Carolyn loved spending time with her family and especially loved taking care of her grandchildren. She was an avid reader, an amateur historian, and a wonderful storyteller who loved to travel. Some memorable family road trips were three weeks in 1961 to ten Western states and one Canadian province; the 1964 trip through the Southeast US visiting numerous Civil War battlefields and FDR’s Little White House in Warm Springs, GA; and finally, the four-week trip up the unpaved Alaska- Canada Highway to visit life- long friends, the Shear Family, in Anchorage, Alaska, tour Denali National Park and Fairbanks.

No telling of Carolyn’s life story would be complete without mention of her time spent in Haynesville, Louisiana, with her Aunt Lela and Uncle Carl. She first visited at the age of four, and it was here, her self- proclaimed “happy place,” where she spent several years enjoying farm life and recovering from tuberculosis. Lela and Carl were virtual second parents to her. Uncle Carl referred to her as his “Lil Partner.”

Carolyn is survived by her sons, Richard Mikeska and Paul (Liz) Mikeska; grandchildren, Jason and Angela Mikeska, and Amie (Loren) Gray; great- grandchildren, David, Brendan, and Sakura Mikeska, Madison and Andrew Gray; sister in- law, Virginia Rose Houston; and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews. She was predeceased by her beloved husband of 67 years, Raymond Mikeska Jr.; father, William Marvin King; mother, Vannie Gertrude Cavin King; sisters, Ruby Cunyus, Ruth Hochuli, Victoria Pettit, Nell Ottmer, Vannie Hrivnatz, and brother, William Marvin King Jr.; Father and Mother in- law, Raymond Mikeska Sr. and Clara Styers Mikeska; brother in- law Sam Houston IV; and numerous other dearly loved relatives. All are welcomed to celebrate the life of Carolyn King Mikeska. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Retina Research Foundation, 1977 Butler Blvd, Houston, TX 77030.

A visitation for Carolyn will be held Sunday, October 17, 2021 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Pat H. Foley & Company, 1200 West 34th Street, Houston, TX 77018. A funeral service will occur Monday, October 18, 2021 from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM, 1200 West 34th Street, Houston, TX 77018. A committal service will occur Monday, October 18, 2021 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM at Hempstead Cemetery, Old Cemetery Rd, Hempstead, TX 77445.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.pathfoleyfuneraldirectors.com for the Mikeska family.