Carol was a loving mother to Athena (David), Eric (Linda) and Brenna (Rick). She doted on her grandchildren, Jasper, Gavin, Ozma, Oona and Marshall. She also had two step grandsons, Jeremy and Adam (Katie), and a great-granddaughter Harper.
Carol's maiden name was Dykoski and she is survived by four brothers, Bob (Patti), William (called Skip), Dick (Karen) and Dan. She was predeceased by her mother Elsie, father Kasmer and sister Barbara.
Carol was born on October 11, 1940 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. At birth she only weighed 4 lbs 14.5 oz, yet she was a feisty baby and survived.
She had a thoughtful, curious mind and always did well in school. She graduated from Patrick Henry High School in 1958 and completed a Bachelor of Science from the University of Minnesota in 1965.
In the summer of 1968, Carol made the one big move in her life, immigrating to Canada. She travelled across the continent with her then-husband Paul and a rock band called The Paisleys, convinced that she was making a choice that would improve her children's future.
When she was in her thirties, she returned to school, achieving a double major Master of Science degree in Audiology and Speech Language Pathology from the University of British Columbia in 1977.
Carol worked for 26 years as a Registered Speech and Language Pathologist in School District 62 (Sooke). She was well-liked and respected in her field. Many of her co-workers became her friends.
Carol has left a legacy of thousands of people who are better able to communicate due to her help.
Her hard work as a speech therapist also allowed her to buy a house in Victoria, British Columbia where she raised her children as a single mom. She always provided a secure foundation for her family, whether it was keeping a roof over their heads when they were younger or giving emotional or financial support when they were older.
Carol's children and grandchildren never had any doubt that she loved them. One of her favourite things to say to them was “love you whole bunches.”
She lived fifty years in the Fernwood neighbourhood and she loved watching the action in the park across the street, scooting over to Hillside Mall to shop, heading downtown for lunch with friends or taking in plays at the Belfry Theatre.
When Carol found something she enjoyed, she did it. And she kept doing it. She read books every day. She was a vegetarian for thirty-eight years. For decades she went to her book club, took painting lessons and did aerobics at the Victoria YM/YWCA.
Every Saturday, for over thirty years, Carol had lunch at Pagliacci's with her friend Norma. In the later years, Norma's sister Pat joined them. Every Friday night for almost forty years, Carol watched movies from Pic A Flic Video with her friend Jean.
Another constant in Carol's life was music. As a young woman she played piano and sang in the choir of the Calvary Presbyterian Church. In mid-life she took up the acoustic guitar and then switched to electric, even forming her own rock band. In retirement, she joined the All In Good Time, choosing an instrument she'd never played before: the violin. One of her greatest joys was watching her grandchildren's concerts and recitals.
Two years before her death, when Carol discovered she had cancer, her children asked her if she had anything that she wanted to do before she died. She said she loved her life exactly as it was, full of family, friends, reading, painting and playing music. So that's what she kept on doing, until right before the end. We should all be so lucky.
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