Carole Eileen Larsen Galedrige

Acclaimed Soprano, Carole Eileen Larsen Galedrige, dies at 90

"It is easy to understand why they called her 'The American Nightingale.' Her voice is clear with Springlike freshness, now soft and gentle, now soaring with ringing power," exclaims the Oakland Tribune. This title was bestowed upon Soprano, Carole Larsen Galedrige, after a 1959 Scandinavian tour with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, her voice ringing as "clear [as] golden amber".

Carole Eileen Larsen Galedrige, born to Ralph Larsen and Lillie Barker on April 28, 1931 in Salt Lake City, Utah, passed away peacefully at her home on March 8, 2022. Carole celebrated her 90th birthday this past Spring on her rose tree-lined driveway, to the enjoyment of local friends and family. Carole was a long-time resident of Los Altos (1957) and spouse of the late Al "The Barber" Galedrige, a downtown proprietor for more than 67 years.

In a serendipitous twist, the driveway that hosted her 90th birthday party was the pathway to her chance meeting with Al, who offered work in driveway resurfacing. "What if my driveway cracks after you have completed the work?" Carole asked. "Well, I am the local barber, come find me". As fate would have it, the driveway did eventually crack, leading Carole on a path to Al's Barber Shop. The two soon fell in love and were wed on July 9, 1977. Al preceded Carole in death in 2016.

Music was a family affair, and her grandfather, Jesse L. Barker, once a professional singer himself, treated Carole to a night of "Pirates of Penzance" as a young girl. This may have been the seed that birthed her vocal talents as she became the 1949 Santa Cruz High School Music Club President.

"A voice described as 'Melting' (SF Chronicle) and 'of golden quality and purity' (NY Times)", she performed Broadway Musical selections and opera in glittering hand-sewn beaded gowns designed by her mother. A voice heard round the world, her popularity included performances in Europe, Canada, Japan, as well as the U.S. Her vocal talents graced such events as the Ed Sullivan Show (NY), San Francisco Symphony, Carnegie Hall, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and the White House for a "Command performance for the President Eisenhower and his guests".

"Sing again, with your dear voice revealing a tone of one world far from ours, where music and moonlight and feeling are one"; a verse Carole chose to have printed beside her name in her high school yearbook. The golden era of this "American Nightingale" still sings in the minds of those she has touched.

Funeral services will be held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 190 Jordan Ave, in Los Altos, CA, at 1 p.m. with a viewing at 11:30 a.m. She will be buried at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park in Millcreek, Utah, March 17th at 11 a.m. Carole is survived by Alaina Paris, Deborah and Robert McCain, Al and Molly Galedrige, Ann Galedrige; and grandchildren Chris and Carmen Anderson, Arlyn Anderson, Alea and Adam Sandefer, Bradley and Erin Galedrige, Alfred Galedrige, Justin Witt, and great-granddaughter Alisa.