Carol Anderson

Carol Anderson, age 79, of rural Chokio, Minnesota, died peacefully on Saturday, October 3, 2020 at her home, surrounded by her family.  Services for Carol are private family services. There will be a drive by quilt show from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 7, 2020 on the Chokio Softball Field fence. The family will be processing through Chokio at 1:45. Burial will be at Chokio Lutheran Cemetery.

Carol Elaine (Olson) Anderson, was born to Kenneth and Doris (Smith) Olson on April 29, 1941 in Morris, Minnesota.  She was baptized in the Lutheran Faith in Chokio at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church on June 15th, 1941.  As the oldest and only child of her family to survive infancy, Carol grew up in Chokio, Minnesota as one of the “town” kids, running the streets, hosting and attending sleepovers, entertaining her family with her cousin Jerri, and playing ball in the town’s parks.  It was during this time Carol “adopted” her own sisters from classmates at the Chokio School.  Carol proved to be adept at making a family even at an early age, and forged here a lifelong sisterhood and support system in her closest friends she later called her “Whirly Girls”.  Carol was a girl who knew what she wanted, and when a freshman at Chokio High School, convinced her closest friend Gerilee (Scheldorf) Zimmerman to call a certain young man in the junior class and invite him to Carol’s birthday party.  Apparently, David liked Carol’s majorette costume and soon the two were an item.  Looking at the cuddles in old prom pictures, they were pretty darn cute.  Carol somehow managed to convince David to go with her as she attended Sunday School classes through high school.  She was confirmed on May 22, 1955 at Zion Lutheran Church in Chokio.   After graduation from Chokio High School in 1959, and Carol’s one-and-a-half-year stint working for Bell Telephone Company in Minneapolis, MN, both high school sweethearts returned home and were united in marriage at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church on July 8, 1961.  They moved to the farm David grew up on, 4 miles south of Chokio.  The newlyweds were promised that running water would get installed on the farm by her father in law, L.A. Anderson, as soon as the first grandchild was on its way.  After a long wait, the water and a daughter, Marsha Jean arrived.  Soon after, a son, Eldon James joined the crew.  Their family was complete!  However, 12 years later Robyn Carol was accidentally found under a rock.  Because Carol thought children were better in pairs, they looked for Justin David on a fence post where a bird had apparently left him.  Carol loved spending time together with her family on many adventures, snowmobiling, camping, running to ball games and concerts, and spending time sewing at the Nimrod cabin while the rest hunted.  Over the years Carol worked as a church secretary for Our Savior’s, Chokio State Bank, helping David on the farm, and serving multiple lunches at plot tours for David’s seed corn business.  She made mean apple bars.  Carol spent many hours as the third grade Sunday School teacher, Bible School teacher, church treasurer, Girl Scout leader, adopted Grandma at the Chokio Senior Center, and making quilts with her Mission Action friends. Carol was smart with quiet determination and loads of common sense, and could find a solution to nearly any problem, or convince you that you could!  She is the reason her grandkids turned out so awesome, as she helped raise nearly all of them on the farm as “grandma daycare”.  She taught all of them to be as great a noisy hugger as she was.  Carol’s best accomplishment was the family she quilted together, her children and grandchildren, her Whirly girls, her lake friends, and her first grade adopted grandkids.  She loved to watch us grow, encouraged all, let us be independent but mothered you if you needed it – even grounding one of the girl’s boyfriends.  While Carol loved to be with her family and others, her greatest love was to DO for family and others, her hands were never idle.  If Carol gave you a quilt she lovingly made, know that you are her family as sure as her own blood.  Even when diagnosed with terminal cancer she was still “doing” for her family: comforting us and assuring us she was content with her decision. We are strong because she was strong. Carol’s memory will be cherished, and we pray you all could live her legacy of loving all those that God puts into your path.

Left to cherish her memory are her sweetheart of 59 wedded years, David J. Anderson; children, Marsha (Roger) Vail, Eldon (Andy) Anderson, Robyn (Michael) Marty, Justin (Lori) Anderson; Grandchildren Christy (Dustin) Schmidgall, Cassidy Vail and fiancé Tyler Erickson, Cody Vail, Ross Marty, Reed Marty, Taylor Anderson; Great-Grandchildren Raven and Kerrick Schmidgall and Kinzey Erickson.  Preceding Carol to the Kingdom were her parents, Kenneth and Doris Olson, three infant siblings, in-laws L.A. and Edna Anderson, and brothers-in-law Dale and Robert Anderson.

IN LIEU OF FLOWERS THE FAMILY PREFERS MEMORIALS TO THE CHOKIO FIRST RESPONDERS.