Carolyn Carpenter

Glendive, Montana: Carolyn (Carol) Carpenter, age 68 of Glendive, MT passed away Sunday October 31, 2010 at the Glendive Medical Center Extended Care. Visitation will be held from 6 PM. until 8 PM on Friday, November 5, 2010 and 10 AM until 11 AM on Saturday, November 6, 2010 in the Chapel of the Silvernale - Silha Funeral Home in Glendive. A Life Tribute Service will be held at 11 AM on Saturday, November 6, 2010 in the Chapel of the Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home in Glendive with Celebrant Sandy Silha officiating. Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home of Glendive has been entrusted with the arrangements. Carol was born on November 9, 1941 in Sentinel Butte, North Dakota, the daughter of Lloyd and Nina (Nielson) Wassman. She was raised and educated in Sentinel Butte until moving to Glendive with her family. Carol married Gerald Hill on March 21, 1958 in Glendive, to this union a son, Gary, was born. Carol later married Frank Carpenter in Miles City, MT on April 23, 1960, and to this union they were blessed with two daughters. Carol and Frank were managers of the Gust Hauf, Carol was also a long time employee of Bair's Truck stop. In 1985 Frank and Carol purchased CC's Family Cafe and in1989 opened the Bump-N-Slide water park. Carol loved her café and all of her customers, she enjoyed chatting and having coffee with them. Most of all she loved her family and friends - they were her life. Carol loved to travel, whether it be on the motorcycle with Frank or in the bus with a large group of their friends. She particularly liked their trips to the House on the Rock. She loved to garden, she loved to sing and dance and she loved to play jokes on her friends. Carol was proceeded in death by her loving husband Frank, her parents Lloyd and Nina and her sister Erma Sams. Survivors include, two daughters, Shelley Lynn (Donny) Wood of Sidney, Montana, Sharla Jean Carpenter (Scott Wierson) of Glendive; son, Gary Wayne Hill of Billings, Montana; six grand children, Silver Lynn and Parker Hill both of Billings, Jessica Lynn (Alex) Arneson of Culbertson, Montana, Lacy Dawn Wood of Helena, Montana and Jerry Dean Wood of Sidney, Montana and Kyra LeeAnn Carpenter of Glendive; four great grandchildren, Tia'ya, Jonathon, Bryson and Seth; four sister-in-laws Audrey (Chett) Davis of White Sulphur Springs, Montana, "Gerri" (Andy) Burman, Pat (Leroy) Smith and Betty Carpenter all of Glendive, and numerous nieces and nephews. Remembrance and condolences may be shared with the family at: www.silvernale-silhafuneralhome.com Today is an important day. Today we remember and celebrate Carolyn Lee Carpenter, and as we mourn her death, we recognize and are grateful for her touch on our lives and on our hearts. As her daughter Shelley Lynn states, Carol was a good companion, friend, aunt, mother, and grandmother. Her vibrant and unique personality was a colorful presence that left a mark on all who knew her. Carol lived and loved loudly; you never had to wonder what she thought, she told you. Carol could be, as her niece, Sissy, put it, cute and cuddly, or crass and crabby, and you would know which as soon as Carol walked in the door. Carol expected you to accept her the way she was, just as she accepted you the way you were. She enjoyed keeping those around her stirred up and off balance because she loved interacting with everyone, being a presence in their world and letting everyone know they were an important presence in hers. Carol was not a complicated woman. Friends from her early years termed her a “free spirit” even then. She once made the comment to them while stuck out on a country road, that it was hard to be unhappy when she had “a beer, a cigarette and a boyfriend right there.” She was quite young when she married and had a son, Gary Hill. Gary was raised by his father. Carol connected with Gary when Gary was a young teenager. He began to visit Carol and Frank, and went on a few bus trips that included the Black Hills and the Passion Play in Spearfish, South Dakota. As a young man, he lived with Frank and Carol for a time, and when Carol was waitressing at Bairs Truck Stop, Gary worked at the gas station part of Bairs. Carol then got him a job at the Wagon Wheel bartending. He remembers Carol as always being busy. When Gary’s daughter Silver Lynn was being born in Billings, her mother had 30 hours of back labor. Carol was there to relieve Gary at the hospital, and she was present for the birth of her granddaughter, Silver Lynn. Later, when Silver Lynn was older, Gary sent her to stay with Carol so Carol could help her straighten out some of her growing pains. Gary found Carol strict about important life issues, and pretty cool about other things important to teens and young adults. Daughter Sharla remembers her first wild hairdo in eighth grade when her hair was spiked and colored pink, blue and purple. Carol encouraged her and even paid for it. Carol was a part of her granddaughter Kyra’s first piercing. Carol always had a part of her that remained a “free spirit”. When grandson Parker had the opportunity to get to visit his grandmother, he thought she was “nice and caring.” And as Granddaughter Jessica said for her grandfather’s eulogy, she was always impressed by the tremendous love shared by her grandparents, and how they listened and helped their grandchildren with a loving and caring attitude. Jessica remembers the special kid trips with grandma and grandpa camping and fishing. In her late teens, Carol had a friend, Pat Carpenter, now Pat Smith. Carol and Pat were sisters of the heart and always have been there for each other through life’s joys and tribulations. Pat introduced Carol to her brother, Frank, “Bum” Carpenter when he was home on leave from the Air Force. Carol and Frank hit it off and after Frank returned to England to do his tour of duty, they corresponded. When Frank returned to Glendive after his discharge, things got very serious and they were married in 1960. Pat loved her brother dearly, but she told Carol when she found out Frank and Carol were going to marry, that she, Pat could never live with him. Carol could and did, for 50 years. Carol was the talker and the up front person, Frank was the listener and the stalwart support behind her. Frank and Carol chose Shelley Lynn and Sharla Jean as their daughters when they adopted them. Most kids threaten to leave home as quickly as they think they can, but Sharla threatened not to leave until she was 43. Carol and Frank were also surrogate parents to nieces and nephews and grandchildren. They opened their hearts and home to any who needed them. Niece Sissy was like a third daughter to Carol and Frank. She stayed with them, vacationed with them, worked at CC’s, and most importantly, went to them for wisdom when life problems overwhelmed her. Carol pretty much grew up in the restaurant business, her parents did restaurant work, and other than working at Coca Cola for a few years when she was young, restaurant work, in particular CC’s Café, its employees and the customers, are what Carol will be forever associated with. Carol and Frank built CC’s Cafe into a successful business. She loved her life’s work and she loved her employees and her customers. Her daughters, nieces and nephews all worked there, the friends and people she employed became extended family, and her granddaughter, Kyra, was the CC’s baby, virtually growing up in the restaurant. Carol was bossy and demanding, but she made it a fun and wild place to work. As Sherry Hendrickson put it, “it wasn’t just twenty years of paychecks, it was years of memories.” You didn’t just work for Carol and Frank, you played with them, vacationed with them, shared holidays with them. Carol and Frank were always there for the people in their lives, whether you were working through life’s problems, sick, celebrating a birth, mourning a death. When Sherry’s mother was dying, Carol made a special trip to the hospital to give Sherry’s mother a kiss goodbye. Carol was generous with what she had, especially her time, and she always had shoulder to lean on. Carol was proud of any accomplishment you might earn, she was a talker, and she was always teaching. Carol gave her honest opinion on everything, whether you wanted it or not, but you were also welcome to give yours right back. Carol and Frank never asked for anything from anyone except for honesty and respect. Carol would forgive you any mistakes, but she never forgot, and she sure never let you forget them. Carol didn’t let you take yourself too seriously, reminding you often of mistakes and faults, making for a lot of interesting verbal exchanges and a great deal of laughter! Very often, Carol would laugh with you until she cried! Carol could be very naughty and very fun! Carol could outwork and out boss anyone. She would stand, leaning on one hand with the other hand on her hip, observing and commenting about the comings and goings of the restaurant. Her waitresses were “her girls”, and things were done a certain way, her way. She was very protective of “her girls”; even Frank had to be careful when getting after them. Guys who worked for Carol usually wound up in the kitchen, doing dishes or cooking. Help was hired on a moments notice. Training was done with the advice “sink or swim.” If things were too quiet during a shift, Carol would say, “everyone is getting along too well” and she would proceed to stir things up. And everyone, everyone at one time or another was fired by Carol. Carol was a good cook and loved to try new recipes. Once when she needed a new dessert, her son-in-law, Donny, who was then cooking for her, shared a recipe with Carol called thunderballs for thunder thighs. It worked well and she used it more than once. Carol also heard a about a pie that a restaurant in New York was getting $12 a slice for. She tried that too but that didn’t go so well; no one liked her dill pickle pie. When traveling or eating out, she would make everyone try new foods and then they would all try to guess the ingredients. Carol made eating out an excellent adventure. Employees of Carol and Frank’s were family members or friends, and all were included in their extended family. Carol loved Christmas and there were 20 years of wonderful Christmas parties for CC’s family. Hayrides with stops at the local bars, schnapps on the wagon, gifts and always a gag gift or two was a big part of the memory making at the holidays. One year all the guys received g-strings from Carol. Being a part of Carol and Frank’s world entitled you to a solid friendship, and free rides on the infamous bus trips Frank, Carol and the gang would take through the Dakotas and to Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Dells was a repeated destination. Carol’s favorite part of the trip was all the “marts” on the way, Walmart, Kmart, Mini-mart, and others. Her particular favorite destination was Wisconsin’s House on the Rock and the large carousel it featured. She loved to stop there and show the carousel to those on the bus who had not yet experienced it. Her favorite beverage on those trips was caramel mocha brandy. She was involved in stealing salt shakers along the route for everyone’s beer. Everyone loved being invited along on the bus. Carol was a very competitive woman. You didn’t want to challenge her and throw down the gauntlet, she would take you up on it and one up you besides. A customer came into the restaurant one morning wanting a stack of very large pancakes. Carol tried to explain just how large her pancakes were. He said he could eat any pancake she could cook and flip. She told her cook, Johnny Ray, to make up a large batch of batter, she covered the whole grill with it; she and Johnny Ray had spatulas in both of their hands and managed to flip the pancake. It was huge. Carol served it on a serving tray and told the customer if he could eat it, he didn’t have to pay for it. He had to pay. Carol loved to play cards, pinochle. She didn’t mind if you beat her fair and square but don’t be her partner and make her lose. Carol also wasn’t above cheating. She and daughter, Sharla, were partners once and it was Sharla’s turn, and she needed to play clubs or hearts. Carol says, “I don’t know whether to club you or love you. I guess I’ll have to club you.” Sharla knew she better take the obvious hint or be in trouble. Carol was a colorful personality, she experienced many mishaps, and she learned to laugh at herself. While working at Bair’s truckstop, she dropped something, squatted down to pick it up, stepped on the hem of her skirt, stood up, leaving her skirt under her shoe. She was only wearing pantyhose underneath. She and Frank built and opened a waterslide park here in Glendive. On her first ride down the slide, her top came off. Carol loved to color her hair, one week red, the next week, purple, but you couldn’t call it purple, it was eggplant. When she was getting the cancer treatments and had no hair, she would comment that the reason she was late was because she “couldn’t do anything with her hair.” Carol enjoyed wearing the color red and she had a favorite yellow shirt that she thought made her look soft. And she liked hats, big hats. When Carol wasn’t at work, she could be found in front of the television watching QVC. She was addicted and found many gifts for everyone that she could order. She did her Christmas shopping there and bought “Philosophy”, her favorite skin care product on QVC. “Philosophy” made her skin soft. As a gift to her mother, Sharla bought a big diary, put a cover on it that said QVC and put all the phone numbers in it from QVC so Carol would have them at hand. Carol was also hooked on Home Interiors. She liked to paint and wallpaper her home and CC’s, and loved to decorate, especially at Christmas. Favorite activities for Carol were singing, dancing, and playing drums with Frank. Familiar Carol songs were “Kalisha”, the “Teddy Bear Song”, “Tom Dooley” and “Wooden Heart.” Carol really enjoyed making up naughty lyrics to well known tunes and singing them for friends. And she was known to waltz her car home. Carol’s favorite place to go for fun was Bob’s Backyard in Beach, North Dakota. A favorite saying was, “ you can’t see the forest for the trees”. Carol and Frank were very generous people. They would take in the homeless and feed them and give them work. If you needed something, they were there. Even if you didn’t, they were there. Sharla was living in Bismarck and decided she was going to attend an NBA game in Minneapolis. Carol knew a couple that had season tickets to the Minnesota Timberwolves basketball team. Carol could not understand why Sharla would want to go, but she secured the tickets and then wouldn’t let Sharla pay for them. It was Carol’s treat. Sissy says that although Carol and Frank like to act rough and tough, they were really like roasted marshmallows, burnt and crusty on the top, soft and gooey inside. Carol and Frank were happiest when they could do something for those they cared about. A few years ago, the opportunity came up to sell CC’s Café. When they decided to do that and they told the employees, Carole felt like she was selling “her girls.” But the time seemed right, and they wanted to travel and relax. Carol and Frank had quit their lifelong habit of smoking, and were ready to enjoy slowing down. Instead Carol found she had lung cancer. She and Frank told everyone not to quit working or quit smoking, because you would just get sick. Although Carol was treated for the cancer, she never was really well again. Frank died unexpectedly about eight months ago, and now Carol has gone to join him. As we mourn Carol’s death, we will miss her loud presence, her unique and colorful personality, her friendship and support to all of her family and extended family, her bossy, fun loving, and free spirit . She will continue live on in your memories, in your stories, and in your hearts, for Carol Carpenter was greatly loved.

Carolyn Carpenter

November 9, 1941 - November 6, 2010

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Carolyn Carpenter

November 9, 1941 - November 6, 2010

What We Do

Flowers & Gifts

Plan Ahead

About Us

Resources

Obituaries

Grief & Healing

Contact Information

365 Days of Grief Support