Carol Louise Gilkerson Mrs. Peden

Carol Louise Gilkerson Peden, 88, passed away peacefully January 10, 2018, in San Antonio, TX. She was born October 31, 1929, in Armour, SD, the fourth child of David and Eva Hansen Gilkerson. After graduating from Brookings High School in 1947 and South Dakota State University in 1951 with a degree in Home Economics, she married Wendell Peden of Gary, SD, in 1952. They celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary last June.

After college, Carol taught in Mound, Minnesota, and then moved to Milbank, SD, where Wendell was a practicing veterinarian. While in Milbank, Carol raised her four children, volunteered as a Cub Scout den mother and in the school district, and participated in service clubs through church and the community. She considered her years in Milbank when the children were young as some of the best years of her life. Carol was an avid reader and passed that love to her children. In 1974, the family moved to Brookings, then to Rapid City in 1977 and, after a few years as snowbirds, to San Antonio in 2000. Even though Carol spent 50 years in a wheelchair as a result of MS, she was faithfully involved in her church and her community. Wendell and Carol spent their early retirement years traveling to visit friends, attending veterinary meetings, and seeing the country.

Carol had a kind, loving spirit. Her perseverance in the face of adversity was inspirational to all who knew her. She loved her extended family, enjoying the family gatherings with all the activities, music, and laughter. Her philosophy to "choose happiness" carried her through life, mitigating life's challenges and extending its joys.

She was preceded in death by her parents, infant sister Dorothy and her brother, David Lee Gilkerson, Jr. She is survived by her husband and her sisters Laura Searls, Jane Cheever, and Peggy (John) Heywood; her children W. Michael (Merna) of Evansville, Indiana; Pamela Kittrell of San Antonio, Texas; Kathryn (Theodore) Blaisdell of South Hadley, Massachusetts; and Cynthia (Richard Flaming) DeJong of Wyckoff, New Jersey; 16 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; and many loving nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at Christ Episcopal Church, 510 Belknap Place, San Antonio, Texas, on January 22 at 11:30 a.m. Reception to follow in the Parish Hall. Memorial donations may be made to the National MS Society (www.nationalmssociety.org/) or Christ Episcopal Church (www.cecsa.org/).

Interment will be in Grand View Cemetery in Gary, South Dakota in August 2018.