Carolyn A Baustian

Carolyn Anne Baustian, 92, peacefully passed away on March 5, 2024 in Rogers, Arkansas. She was born on May 15, 1931 in Little Rock, Arkansas to the late James Everett and Sallie (Heilman) Jones. She grew up in Little Rock but moved to Long Beach, California when her dad found work there during the Great Depression. They moved back to North Little Rock, Arkansas after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Near the end of the war, they moved back to Long Beach in 1944. She attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School where she was active in sports, writing, music, speaking and class responsibilities. She was tapped to help form the first girls’ basketball team for the school before graduating in 1949.

She met Ken Baustian at the USO in Long Beach, California in Spring, 1951. After a brief engagement, they married in September of 1951. Ken, serving in the Air Force, was transferred to England. They lived in England for two years before returning to Long Beach. She and Ken were loving partners for 59 years. During that time, she received a Master’s in Community Clinical Psychology from CSULB. She opened the first Community Counseling Center in Huntington Beach in 1974; the same year, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act passed that granted women the right to open a bank account on their own. She maintained the office until 1994.

Carolyn then worked with a Psychiatrist in Temecula, California until the fall of 2008 in addition to having her own family counseling office in Sun City. While working professionally, she was very active as President of the Mt. San Jacinto College Foundation, president of the board of Hospice of the Valleys and the first female president of the Sun City Rotary Club. She was a lifetime member of Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society, a member of the American Association of University Women and P.E.O. She made volunteering and community involvement a constant in her life. Carolyn’s mission was empowering women to be caring, compassionate and confident individuals. She made a difference in everything she touched and left her mark in the lives of everyone she met wherever she lived.

Carolyn led an active life ballroom dancing, playing tennis and enjoying time with close friends. She also loved traveling and adventures. In the early years, the Baustian family went camping and enjoyed water and snow skiing trips. The travels and adventures changed as her children grew older including family trips to the Hawaiian Islands and sailing in the Caribbean. Most of all she just loved spending time with family and friends!

Carolyn was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Kenneth Frank Baustian; sister, Barbara Deivert; and daughter-in-law, Claudia Baustian. Carolyn is survived by her sister, Charlotte Calvin of California; son, Philip Baustian of Ohio; daughters, Suzanne Clinard (Mark) of Arkansas and Rebecca Perdue (Bill Lightfoot) of North Carolina; 4 grandchildren, Ian Baustian and Micah Baustian of Ohio, Alyssa Clinard of Arkansas (currently attending graduate school in Paris, France), Jennifer (Clinard) Wilcox and 3 great grandchildren of Oklahoma; and many nieces and nephews.

A memorial will be held at Miller Jones Mortuary in Menifee, California on April 13, 2024 at 11:00 a.m.