Carolyn Mae Toepke

March 8, 1943 - December 1, 2018

Carolyn Mae (Qualey) Toepke, age 75, of Missoula, Montana passed away peacefully on December 1, 2018. Carolyn was born March 8th, 1943 in Williston, ND to Sig and Margaret Qualey. She was educated in Glendive and graduated from Dawson County High School with the Class of 1961. Shortly after high school Carolyn married and raised her four children. While living in Glendive she worked at the Glendive Medical Center for Dr. Harkness and Dr. Leal and was a secretary for the Evangelical Church. Carolyn was also active in the Zion Lutheran church where she taught Sunday School, Bible School and helped with the Zion Fair Booth. In 1993 she moved to Missoula where she loved living in the mountains and supporting the Grizzly football team where she was a season ticket holder for over 20 years. While living in Missoula Carolyn held various positions that included her continued work in the medical field and at the Grizzly Bear Recovery at The University of Montana before retiring in 2005. Anyone who knew Carolyn knew that she loved the color pink. Her clothes, furniture, flowers and even the color of her house reflected it. Carolyn loved to grow huge baskets of petunias every summer (a talent she inherited from her father, Sig). Her flowers were the envy of her Grant Creek neighborhood where she could be seen with her beloved Bedlington terriers. Although our “Pink Lady” is gone from us she will never be forgotten. Carolyn is survived by her sons Cary (Elaine) Toepke of Fort Collins, Colorado and Lindsay (Jennifer) Toepke of Missoula, Montana; her daughter Heide Toepke of Olympia, WA; granddaughters Mikal, Kendel and Kennedi Wilkerson and Taylor and Tara Toepke and her sister Phyllis Manning of Billings, MT. Carolyn is preceded in death by her daughter Camy Popiel and her parents Sig and Margaret Qualey.