Carol Ann Rhoades

Carol was a proud mother, wife, grandma and great-grandma and passionate quilter. If not for Parkinson’s disease, she would be with us today.

Christmas Carol was born December 25, 1937 to Theodore Schoenberg and Dorothy Kaiser in Chewelah, Washington. She had an adventurous childhood with her siblings Dan, Ken and Joan and enjoyed exploring Quartzite Mountain and trips to the Colville River and Loon Lake. She graduated from Jenkins High School while working as a medical assistant at St. Mary’s hospital.

She was one of the Chewelah “Sunshine Girls” who loved high school dance parties at the grange, where she met the love of her life, Russell “Dean” Rhoades. They were married on June 9, 1957 at St. Mary of the Rosary Catholic Church with a honeymoon in Glacier National Park. Their journey included homes in Connell and Cheney, Washington and Anchorage Alaska, and lastly retiring in Yakima in 1997.

Her passion for quilting was inspired by her mother Dorothy. She loved everything about the art-form, from selecting fabrics to choosing the colors and quilt pattern and finishing the quilt. She started collecting fabrics in the early ‘60s, and spent decades volunteering in quilting clubs. She felt it was her civic duty to enter quilts to fairs and auctions to inspire others to go into the craft.

Carol was active with the Yakima Valley Quilters Guild and the Alpha Iota Master Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi, a sorority for learning and friendships among women.

Carol sends her love to her husband of 66 years, Dean, and her children Larry (Carol), Kim (Ric), Mark, Craig (Kimmy) and Diana; her grandchildren Duncan (Nicolette), Lauren (Laura), great-grandchildren Allison, Ara and Rylie, her brothers, Dan and Ken, and many cousins, friends and extended family.

Please join us for a celebration of life at Keith and Keith Funeral Home in Yakima, WA on Saturday, July 13 at 10 am. To leave a memory and sign the online guestbook, please visit keithandkeith.com