Carol Jean McCraney

Carol Jean McCraney was quite the woman. Funny, fierce, and filled with kindness and compliments for everyone she met. She always made you feel like the most attractive and interesting person in the room. She had a flare for style, bright colors, and painted nails.

Carol had deep roots on the Peninsula, going back at least three generations. She was born in Carmel on September 5, 1936, to Florence and Edward Bushnell, the eldest of three siblings, Joyce Bushnell Feliciano and her brother Edward David who died at the age of 2. Her mother, Florence, a homemaker, is where she got her warmth and kindness, and her father Eddie, a deep-sea diver, is where she got her humor and strength. She was named after John Steinbeck’s first wife, Carol, who were both friends of her father.

As a proud Monterey High Toreador, she and her sister Joyce loved to go to football games, and in the summer, they would lay out on the beach, smothered in baby oil. They never tanned, only peeled. Their close, sisterly bond remained strong throughout their lives. She met her husband, John Duwane McCraney her senior year at Eddie’s Restaurant, where he worked. She and her sister would order Cherry Cokes and french fries, a simple order that would lead to love.

In 1955, at the tender age of 19, Carol married Duwane in an elopement that was blessed by their families. Their 68-year marriage was one for the storybooks, filled with affection, playfulness, and devotion. Whether in public or in the quiet of their home, Carol and Duwane were always holding hands. They had their first daughter, Wendy McCraney-Matz (Hank) in 1958, followed four years later by their second daughter, Jody Flores (Gus) in 1962. As her daughters grew into adulthood, the three women took delight in spending time together, a bond between all three that Carol had nurtured from the beginning. Laughter and lemon drops were often a part of their hijinks.

Carol’s greatest joy was being a mom and a wife. She cut crooked bangs on her daughters, gave the best back scratches, and told hilarious bedtime stories that moved through the generations of the family. She helped her husband in his tile contracting business, tended her beautiful garden, and enjoyed family vacations with good friends to the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, and Disneyland to name a few.

After raising her daughters, Carol enjoyed line dancing, her volunteer work in the Civics Club, and travels; she and her husband had a special place in their hearts for Hawaii and traveled there often. But most of all, she loved spending time with her grandkids, Nicole Campbell (Nason), Taylour Matz, Gus Flores (Rachelle), Hunter Matz, and Blake Flores, who took full advantage of her sense of humor and whimsy. Carol cheered on her grandkids with unbridled enthusiasm, whether they were hitting home runs, the star on the stage, or even the shy curtain puller offstage. She was also blessed to have 6 great-grandchildren, Jaycie, Jackson, Kody, and Tessa Campbell, and Giorgia and Gussie Flores. Up until her last weeks, she was their favorite playmate, dancing, throwing baseballs, and creating art together.

She was welcomed into Heaven on April 28, 2024 by her parents and baby brother, Edward David. Carol will be dearly missed by her loving family, close friends, and her beloved niece, Leah Feliciano.

The family would like to express their heartfelt appreciation for the compassionate care Carol received through the years by her physicians, Dr. Lancelot Alexander and Dr. Jill Tiongco and the VNA Hospice team that tenderly cared for Carol and her family during her last earthly days.

The funeral service will be held on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 at St. Angela’s Merici Catholic Church in Pacific Grove at 10:30 a.m. Arrangements by The Paul Mortuary, www.thepaulmortuary.com