It is with great sadness that our family announces the passing of Carol Afton Leone on January 20th, 2023. Carol passed peacefully at home, surrounded by family, just weeks after celebrating her 88th birthday.
Carol was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on December 19th, 1934, to Charles and Lillian Spath. The youngest of three sisters, Carol adored her older sisters, Gail and Shirley, all of whom lovingly referred to each other throughout their lives as the “three little sisters”. Charles and Lillian raised their family in a close-knit, loving home in Denver Colorado. Carol’s mom was a writer and she loved to tell the story of coming home after school to hear the “rat-a-tat-tat” of her mother’s typewriter. Carol’s father was an attorney and a doting father to his three girls. He, too, took up writing after the passing of his wife, publishing a book of poems filled with stories of his three girls, and sage advice for the younger generation. Carol took great comfort in reading her father’s poems, especially as she grew older.
As a teenager, Carol attended Englewood High School. Carol and her girlfriends went to the movies, shopped for prom dresses, and went on double- or triple-dates to high school dances. Along the way, they became life-long friends. Though Carol was never one to get in trouble, she remained under the protective eyes of her sisters, and even her future brother-in-law, Bob Youngquist, who dated Gail starting in high school. However, neither sisterly love nor motherly advice could hold Carol back once she met the “love of her life” at a high school dance – a dashing air force service member named Frank Leone. Upon graduating from high school, Carol briefly attended Colorado State Teacher’s College in Greely, Colorado. However, the day after turning 19 years old, Carol and Frank were married in Denver, Colorado, on December 20th, 1953. Carol was soon pregnant with their first child, Frank Michael, who tragically died just three days after his birth in 1955. Despite this terrible loss, Carol and Frank went on to have three children. Lesli came first in 1956 followed by Nick in 1957 and Lisa in 1965.
Carol and Frank raised their family in Rockville, Maryland, where Carol was a stay-at-home mom. The years spent raising her children were busy, filled with love, laughter, and many, many holidays and special occasions spent with Carol’s sister- and brother-in-law, Dolores and Herb Haschen, and their five children. The two families lived around the corner from one another in Norbeck Meadows and all the kids were constantly coming and going between the two homes and throughout the neighborhood. These were happy years for Carol and Frank, though not without challenges (an ill-fated summer vacation to Ocean City, Maryland, with eight kids in tow, Carol nearly drowning only to be saved by Herb, and Frank’s epic sunburn, has long been part of our family lore).
During the summer months, Carol and Frank traveled to Colorado for family-filled visits with her parents, her sisters, and her nieces and nephews. Carol and her sisters saw each other whenever life and time allowed, sharing memories, laughter, and so much love. They all enjoyed spending time at Gail and Bob’s cabin in Bailey, Colorado, a special place that Gail and Bob generously shared with their extended family. Sadly, Shirley predeceased her sisters, passing away in 2020. Though our family misses her terribly, we take great comfort in knowing that Shirley and Carol are once again reunited in heaven.
As Carol’s children grew older, she entered the workforce in the late 1970s. One of her first jobs was working as an Outpatient Registrar at Montgomery General Hospital in Olney, Maryland. Throughout the years, she held various positions, including one at the American Red Cross. However, the position that was most meaningful to her was working as a Receptionist/Executive Assistant for The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) in Rockville, Maryland. TIGR was (and still is) a non-profit research institute whose mission was to map the human genome and to freely share its ground-breaking research with the scientific community. Carol believed in TIGR’s mission and she enjoyed organizing lunches for visiting dignitaries, greeting the scientists and staff each day as they came to work, and keeping herself informed regarding the Institute’s research. Everyone from the CEO on down knew Carol for her bright smile and friendly nature.
At age 65, Carol decided to retire and moved to the Pacific Northwest to be closer to her family. For eighteen years, she lived in Gresham, Oregon. There, she spent time caring for Lesli’s children, Carly and Nicky. She also made many trips to Seattle to help Lisa care for her newborn twins, Maddy and Leo, even living with her for nearly three months shortly after their birth. There were also trips to British Columbia at Christmas to visit Nick and his girls, Aisha and Kiah. Though Carol was not fond of travel, she would never hesitate to do so if it meant she could see her family or help them in some way.
Aside from her family, Carol also made many close friends while living in Gresham. Whether Gresham Methodist Church, Starbucks, or Borders, Carol made new friends, wherever she went. She soon became well known in the community as she made regular rounds of the small boutiques, stores, and coffee shops in the downtown area where she was never too busy to stop and chat. She loved meeting her girlfriends to shop, have lunch, or see a movie together. Carol owned a beautiful home in Gresham, with Douglas fir trees reaching toward the sky all around her backyard, where her kids would hide Easter eggs for the grandkids, where the family celebrated Lesli’s 50th birthday party, and where Nick and his fiancée, Lisa, held their rehearsal dinner before their marriage at the Edgefield. Our family has so many happy memories of her time in that home.
In 2017, Carol moved to Seattle where she could spend more time with her youngest daughter, Lisa, and her family. Living mid-way between Corvallis and Nanaimo, Les and Nick were able to visit frequently. On sunny days, Carol enjoyed visiting the Farmer’s Market in Ballard, especially the bouquets of fresh flowers and the homemade kettle corn. She loved going out to dinner at any of the many wonderful restaurants along historic Ballard Avenue. At home, Carol always loved sitting in front of the fireplace, a good strong cup of coffee, a lively political debate, chocolate turtles or peanut brittle, and reading Louise Penny. Throughout her life, Carol was an avid reader – whether fiction, non-fiction, or newspapers, she was rarely without something to read no matter where she was; it was one of her great pleasures. She read local and national newspapers cover to cover each day to keep herself informed on the events and issues of the day. Carol was never shy about talking politics – she called herself a “true blue” democrat (“it’s in our blood,” she used to say). Her politics were informed by her stead-fast Christian faith, as she always “held firmly to the truth in love, so as to grow up in every way into Christ.” She knew that at the time of her passing, she would walk hand-in-hand with God to her eternal home.
Carol would be the first to tell you that she was “truly blessed” throughout her life but the thing she loved most was “being a mom”. And what a sweet, loving, wonderful mother she was – not just to her own children, but also to many family members and friends or almost anyone needing either a shoulder to cry on or a place to lay their head at night. She will be missed by so many whose lives she touched.
Carol is survived by her three children – Lesli Leone Uebel, Nick Leone, and Lisa Leone Agranoff; two sons-in-law, Jeff Uebel and Will Agranoff; daughter-in-law, Lisa Christensen Leone; and, six grandchildren: Aisha and Kiah Leone, Carly and Nicky Uebel, and Maddy and Leo Agranoff. Carol is also survived by her sister and brother-in-law, Gail and Bob Younguist. Carol leaves behind her beloved nieces and nephews. She also leaves behind so many dear friends, many of whom she knew most of her life, others she knew for a shorter span of time, all of whom she cherished.
Carol is preceded in death by her eldest son, Frank Michael Leone (dec. March 30, 1955); her dear nephew, Rob Younguist (dec. January 7, 2020); her eldest sister, Shirley Burman (dec. October 24, 2020) and her husband of 35 years, Frank Nicholas Leone (dec. October 28th, 2020).
We were blessed to live and grow in Carol’s light. God bless you, Mom – may you rest in sweet peace knowing that you will forever live in the hearts of all those who held you dear. Until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of his hand.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 20th, 2023, at Olinger Crown Hill Cemetery in Denver, Colorado. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a tribute donation in her name to the Alzheimer’s Association.
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