Carol Axelton passed away on February 4, 2024, aged 90. Her long life encompassed a wide range of experiences, from living in railroad boxcars to riding camels in Egypt and elephants in India.

Carol was born in 1933 in Salt Lake City to parents Opal and Harry. Harry worked for the railroad, and at one point the family lived in a house next to the train tracks that was built from boxcars laid end-to-end. A child of the Depression, Carol was no stranger to hard work. After her father passed away when she was 7, she helped her mother run the house and care for her two younger sisters. As a teen, she scooped ice cream at the local soda shoppe (a job that cured her of any desire to eat ice cream).

Carol earned a bachelor's degree from UCLA, where she met her husband, Allyn, through the United Methodist Church's Wesley Foundation. During college, Carol shared a two-bedroom apartment with five other girls. The roommates learned to cook by sharing family recipes, taking turns cooking each night, and hosting their boyfriends for dinner. Several of these couples married, and many couples remained lifelong friends to Carol and Allyn.

After Allyn and Carol married in 1956, Carol taught school in Southern California while Allyn attended graduate school. In 1960, they moved to Ohio, where Allyn became a campus minister at Ohio State University, with Carol as a supportive partner in his work. Ohio was also where Carol and Allyn started their family, eventually adopting three children. Carol earned her master's degree from OSU, often toting a baby to class.

In 1970, the couple returned to Southern California, where Carol began her lifelong career teaching elementary school in the L.A. Unified School District. Eventually, she also became a passionate union representative for United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA).

In addition to teaching at schools ranging from the inner city to the suburbs, Carol also ran the household and cared for her husband, three children, and a rotating menagerie of pets. Most nights she could be found grading papers on the couch until she dozed off watching murder mysteries on TV, then rose at 5:30 a.m. to do it all again. In her spare time, Carol enjoyed watching old movies and reading mystery and sci-fi novels.

Family was always Carol's priority. Regular summer road trips across the country to camp and visit friends and family in New Jersey, Iowa, and California created many memories. Frequent visits to local museums exposed us to art, history, and culture. Whenever we wanted to take art lessons or join youth sports teams, she used the "pocket money" she earned selling Shaklee products. Carol also cared for her mother for many years, moving Opal nearby and visiting her almost daily.

By 2000, both Carol and Allyn had retired, and they moved to the San Diego area to be nearer to their grandchildren. They enjoyed their retirement by traveling the world, visiting six continents and over 40 countries, including China, Japan, Italy, Great Britain, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Egypt, and Australia. In 2010, Allyn and Carol moved to Casa de las Campanas retirement community.

Carol loved playing with her grandchildren and weekly chats with her sisters on the phone. Smart, feisty, and informed, she regularly read several newspapers a day. Carol kept her sharp sense of humor to the end. Even when suffering from dementia and the effects of a stroke, she still uttered wisecracks that made everyone laugh, and debated with her physical therapists about the best ways to regain her strength.

Carol is survived by her husband of 67 years, Allyn; children Karen (Scott), Deborah (Michael), and David (Angie); sisters Audrey and Barbara; six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

No service is planned, but donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association ( www.alz.org ) in Carol's memory.