This memorial website was created in the memory of our loved one, Carol Mason who was born in Virginia on October 15, 1940 and passed away on November 04, 2007 at the age of 67. We will remember her forever.

From her service:
For those of you who perhaps knew little about Carol, I hope that by reading this, you will have been enriched by a longer glimpse into Carol’s life. For those who know her well, may these words help you live through your grief into the richness of sweet memories.

I suspect that at this moment Carol is leisurely reclining while enjoying a good book, being able to take pleasure in the reading which sustained her through many years. In fact, if we were thrown into the middle of all the books she ever read, we would be enjoying a significant library with a variety of topics, as such was her interest in the written word. It wasn’t unusual for her to be reading 5 books at a time, peppering the different rooms with different volumes. It was nothing for her to read a book a night.

Carol was giftedly very intelligent. She graduated from high school at the age of 16, having skipped a class, serving as salutatorian. Peggy said she was very smart; however, she didn’t flaunt it. She enjoyed taking college classes along with Kelly and Dave, just for the fun of it and the competition. Although she didn’t secure a college degree, she probably had enough credits. She wasn’t a slacker as she even built herself a computer.

In a different area, Peggy said Carol loved to eat. She said you wouldn’t know it by her slender build, but she had a voracious appetite. Needless to say, she was overjoyed at taking part in Mt Bethel covered dish meals. Of course, even in food, sometimes her obsessiveness in detail came out as she loved to give you all the ingredients, whether it was asked for, or not. As the family said, she dissected everything. I suspect this came from her insatiable appetite for knowledge.

I did not get the impression that cooking was as high a priority as eating though. In fact, Dave, who is an excellent cook, said his mom would coerce them into doing the cooking, often using it as a teaching opportunity. Now Carol did have a unique recipe for lemon pie. The problem was she left out the lemon & so it was affectionately christened by the children as “Eagle brand” pie. However she was innovative, as Carol enjoyed peanut butter, bacon and pickle sandwiches. I think the more ingredients, the better.

And who could forget her famous biscuits? Not exactly culinary delights. But they had been put to good use. As a child, Dave came home one day upset because his bike had been taken. Carol adamantly instructed him to go get it back and to ensure success she gave him a bag of biscuits for ammunition, not to offer for eating, but for throwing.

Going to the beach was a hobby, going as often as possible in her adult life….herself, with family, or with friends. There was something about just getting away and it served her well. There was always a suitcase that stayed packed. Carol’s love of water didn’t require the beach though, as she took much pleasure in Wayne and Kelly’s pool also.

Ah, and then there were the proverbial slots that Carol loved to play for fun. Much to her chagrin, Kim would often shake her head after losing, witnessing Carol come behind her on the same machine and enjoy rewards.

We have to mention that she often enjoyed crocheting, with sweaters often the final product. Dave kiddingly stated, although sometimes the garments didn’t necessarily fit. Peggy recalled Carol lovingly crocheted a whole set of clothes for her first child, Darrell, to include mittens, shoes and a sweater outfit.

You weren’t in Carol’s house long without realizing she was a collector. Your conversation would be interspersed with the occasional melody of a cuckoo. Yep, you guessed it; she collected cuckoo clocks, not all going off at the same time. Her gift of using the computer resulted in a number of cuckoo clock purchases on e-bay.

If you knew Carol well, you knew she had many friends. You couldn’t be in her presence without enjoying her company. She also had a group of internet friends, called the “Nifty 50’s”, that as Wayne affectionally said, were long overdue for a name change.

Marriage was an influence on her life, as she and Clarence were given 30 years together. Relationships were important to her, whether family or friends. Sometimes they required sacrifice as she moved back to Barton Rd after having been gone, to take care of her father Chester.

Carol loved the role of prankster, especially enjoying mind games, often leading to confusion as you scratched your head ultimately trying to figure out what she was talking about. But son in law and good friend Wayne had no difficulties as the both of them understood each other, often relishing in their own dry sense of humor. In fact, they would play games of random free association that only they understood. And when you got Carol, Wayne and Brother Gary together there was no end to their interpersonal contrivances, leaving the rest of the family scratching their heads and wondering from which planet they had descended.

She wasn’t one to let circumstances change her behavior. There was the time, while traveling as a passenger in Wayne’s open convertible that she undid her seat belt and crawled over the front seat to the back seat to rescue take out food, facilitating in Wayne putting a big scratch on the car, unable to control his mother in law, as if anyone could.

Carol was famous for giving obedient lip service and then turning around and doing exactly as she wanted in the first place. That applied to driving too, even after suffering vision issues. In fact, her neurological ophthalmologist, knowing she would do whatever she wanted, when asked by Carol is she could drive, said yes, but warn him of her impending driving so HE could get off the road.

She was always very generous. Dave remembers turning down her generosity, when as a teen, he needed transportation and she offered him her car. He turned down her favorite car, a 1962 PINK T-bird, instead opting to walk.

Generosity wasn’t the only trait Kelly and Dave remember. As the disciplinarian of the family, she was quite adept at effectively using flip flops as tools of corporal punishment, throwing in the occasional fly swatter. Now, Dave is the elder of the two siblings, and Kelly was heard saying, that as the recipient of mom’s punishment, he got the better deal, considering Kelly had to wrestle with the guilt imposed by Carol throwing bible verses at her. But Dave remembers that when he did things deserving punishment, she would patiently deal with him, refusing to make snap reactions, but doing it in a well thought out manner. Patience was a virtue that Carol made a way of life.

She dealt with problems head on, but would sometimes avoid conflict. She got tired of the doctors complaining about her lack of weight before chemo. So before her weigh in’s, she would go to a buffet meal to bulk up.

I don’t think Carol saw herself as getting older, just experiencing more of life. In fact, the funny story is told of her going to her 25th high school class reunion with husband Clarence and walking right by the room where it was being held, because she commented “The reunion can’t be in there. Those folks are too old.” Recently she enjoyed her 50th reunion from her 1957 graduation from Fieldale High School.

Being part of a church family was always important to Carol, and she wasn’t hung up on denomination. It was more about relationships. She enjoyed using her gift of piano at Fieldale Baptist church. She taught SS at McCabe Baptist. At Clearview Wesleyan she was both secretary and head of the children’s department. At Freedom Baptist she often volunteered for the nursery. You can see that Carol loved children.

Carol liked any excuse for getting together with family and friends. Thanksgiving was a favorite holiday and she was fun to be with. Wayne said she was a blast. She would eat, laugh and simply have fun.

When my daughter Jessica learned of Carol’s death, she was saddened. Then she thought of how Carol loved her cat, Bonkers and was worried about who would take care of Bonkers. Kelly said not to worry. They took a family vote. Dog Sam said yes, and with Kelly and Wayne’s affirmative votes, they were able to adopt Bonkers in spite of dog Blitz’s no vote. Obviously, there will be a transition period.

Pets were important to Carol thru the years. How she loved Killer, a Heinz 57 type hound. Years ago, when Carol first attended Mt Bethel, Killer also got religion as he attended Sunday School. How she enjoyed another dog named Sam, which Dave says was his but Kelly claims was hers. I believe it was Mema’s dog whom you all adopted. This dog had an I don’t care what others think of me attitude like Carol, as witnessed by the fact that Sam could climb trees and would stalk birds and enjoy cat food.

Kelly handed me a copy of an interview that her college friend had conducted with Carol as part of a course requirement to interview somebody born in the 40’s. Carol responded to posted questions. Listen to several: “Did you enjoy high school?” “Yes, I enjoyed learning”. Listen to the wisdom of this exchange “Did you get along with your parents when you were a teenager?” “Yes, but at times I felt like they tried to be my buddies, more than parents”. “Were you concerned about fashion?” “No, I wore what I wanted to and if it wasn’t what everybody else wore, that was their problem.” “How did you and your friends spend free time?” “Same way dates were spent, although in addition to that, I used to sneak out the window of the chemistry class on the ground floor to go to the soda shop next door with a friend in class. The chemistry teacher was nearly blind and we sat in the back of the class. I would never have done something to upset the teacher intentionally, but she never knew.”

We gathered together on Barton Road to talk about Carol. This message has largely come from that gathering, attended by Wayne and Kelly; Dave, Kim, Shelby and Shannon; Kathy, Jacob and Jessie; and Peggy and Deanna. As I bring this message to a close here are some of their additional comments:

Carol had high ethical standards. Kelly had memories of her teaching things. She was a woman of principle. She was so independent. She was outspoken. Peggy said she was a very good person, kind and considerate. Kathy said Carol was a good caregiver. Peggy said a little hard headed. She was very positive. Kelly said she would let you worry about something for five minutes on Tuesdays. She didn’t like you to fuss over her. Peggy said she wasn’t bothered by much of anything and she was a wonderful friend. Dave said she was a wonderful mother. Kim echoed Dave and said she was a wonderful mother in law and grandmother. She was upbeat about life and loved upbeat music. Kathy said she never met a stranger. Kelly said she would talk to anyone about anything for however long. She stayed in touch with friends. Kelly said she was full of spirit. Kim said strong willed. Dave said self-motivated. Peggy said faithful. Wayne said independent. Kathy said playful with children. Jacob said wonderful. Shelby said energetic. Shannon said funny and Jessie said above average in everything. Kim said she loved laughing. Kelly said she doubted seriously that her mom had any regrets. Peggy said she was a good Christian.

I have had the pleasure of knowing Carol for about 4 years, and they represent the time after she suffered her aneurysm with those consequences. But folks I am here to tell you, I would be hard put to tell you of anyone who carried a better attitude than Carol. She witnessed to me with her love of life and her willingness to go with the punches without undue worry. What a battler. You would think that her treatments were something to treat casually. You know, at one time I think I am correct in saying that she was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, but yet a couple weeks ago she was declared cancer free. I am a firm believer that a positive attitude goes a long way toward helping you with health. I believe that it was her number 1 attitude which sustained her and nurtured her and I believe her attitude came from a deep faith in the God with who she has always resided. When I would visit with Carol, often after bringing her communion, I was the one who came away feeling better because it was her smile and her outlook on life that served as a reminder of the importance of living in the grace of God.

It was a highlight two Sundays ago in her last service here on earth, as we rolled out the wheelchair to Kelly’s car to pick up Carol and bring her into the church, where she was joyfully greeted by everyone as we all worshiped together.

Peggy told us that in a recent conversation with Carol, she told Peggy “Now, if I go before you do and you get really lonely for me, just go sit on the front porch of my house and I’ll be there.” Carol’s spirit is with us, sitting with us in this sanctuary and she will always be with us and nobody can take that away. When Kelly found her mom in her home this past Sunday, she had already left this world for the next, but on her face was a smile. Can’t you just see that smile in response to the words God whispered to her at the end of her earthly life? “Carol, you have been a faithful servant. It’s now time for you to reap the rewards for living my will and loving me. I love you so please come with the angels as they bring you to me and the joys of eternity.”

Now, that’s worth smiling about. Amen.