Carolyn Lee Fonken

Carolyn Lee Fonken, aged 82 years, passed from physical life to continue living in the hearts and memories of her family and friends early Friday, August 23, 2013. She was born June 30, 1931 in Sacramento, California to William Stay, a son of Norwegian immigrants, and Stella Watson, a daughter born to settlers in the Oklahoma Indian Territory.

Carolyn was highly intelligent, independent of spirit, and adventurous, moving through life with an insatiable curiosity, emotional and physical resilience, and a natural elegance. She spent her childhood running barefoot through the vineyards and orchards of her family's picturesque ranch on the banks of the Kings River in the great Central Valley of California, fronting the high peaks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. At age 14 she stole away for a day and soared high over those peaks in an open-cockpit biplane, a trip she won in a local raffle and one which her parents forbade. At 16 she graduated high school and at 17 entered the University of California at Berkeley, where she excelled academically and served enthusiastically on the student council. At 20, she reluctantly filled in on a date for her sick roommate, only to fall in love with that man and marry him less than a year later. In 1959, while 8 months pregnant and with 3 young children in tow, she and her husband moved from California to Texas, driving across the southwestern deserts in the summer heat in an unairconditioned station wagon, settling in what would become their lifetime home of Austin. In later years, Carolyn travelled the world with her husband, children, and friends, from the quaint villages of rural England to the spartan streetscapes of Communist-era Russia; her family's ancestral farm in Norway to mud brick alleyways in central Asia. She dined with the king and queen of Belgium, conversed with presidents, and maintained an extensive network of friends from all walks of life, her dearest being the ladies she played bridge with on a weekly basis for over 50 years. Through her tireless genealogical research she brought to life for her family the stories of hundreds of ancestors, running the gamut from an English king's administrator imprisoned in the Tower of London during the 16th century, a Revolutionary War general killed in the Battle of Cowan's Ford, to humble farmers in Norway, Germany, and Colonial America. Her most cherished experiences, however, were being a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother.

Carolyn joins her parents, brother David Stay, sister Judy Rideau, and grandson Christopher Fonken in eternal peace. She is survived by her husband of 60 years, Gerhard "Gerry" Fonken of Austin; son David and wife Carol Fonken of Austin; daughter Kathie and husband Bill Bailey of La Grange; son Steve and wife Jan Fonken of Boise, Idaho; daughter Karen Fonken of Austin; and son Eric and wife Jennifer Fonken of Austin. She is also survived by her many grandchildren and great-grandchildren: Erin Fonken, husband Brandon Mathis, and their child Eamon, Brian Fonken, and Laura Fonken; Gregg Schmedes, wife Kelly, and their children Isaiah, Emory, and Ada Grace, Sarah Schmedes, and Jennifer (Schmedes) Hoffman and husband Josh; Meghan, Kyle, and Ryan Fonken; Emily, Cara, and Will Fonken.

Carolyn's family would like to thank the staff of Hospice Austin who provided her excellent care over the past year as well as the many friends who supported her and her family during her lengthy illness.