complications of congestive heart, dementia and kidney failure. Carol was born March 17, 1922 in Findlay, Ohio, second daughter of three daughters and one son born to Scotch/Irish parents George and Nina Downing. Most of her childhood/young adult life was spent in Toledo, Ohio. At age thirteen, she met her life long friend, future husband,
and life time partner LeRoy Harold Schultz. On August 8, 1940 they were married, had two daughters and raised their family in Oregon, Ohio. Carol and her family were active members of The Toledo Gospel Tabernacle and lifetime supporters of Evangelist Billy Graham. During her daughter's early childhood years, she was a devoted homemaker, but, she later worked for AP Parts in Toledo, Ohio, in the billing department.
Around 1988, she joined her husband by taking early retirement and they headed to Bradenton, Florida where they enjoyed being 'Snow Birds' until 1991. While in Bradenton, they were active members of the First Alliance Church of Bradenton, Florida. Also, around 1991, they sold their homes, packed the van and moved to Allen, Texas to be close to one of their daughters during their Golden Years. Until her death, she was a member of the First Baptist Church of Allen. Carol was survived by her two daughters: Carol Funston of Cataula, GA, Pat Schultz of Allen, TX; grandsons: James Lee Funston (wife Connie) of Shiloh, GA, David Alan Funston (wife Lisa)
Cataula, GA, and great-grandson Jonathan David Funston, Cataula, GA.
The family would like to express their gratitude and appreciation to the staff at
North Texas Personal Care Homes of Plano, TX. for their loving care and compassion
during the past three years. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to The National Kidney Foundation (www.kidney.org). Carol, together with her late husband
LeRoy, will be laid to rest at Toledo Memorial Park, Sylvania, Ohio sometime during 2011.
A Tribute to Carol from her family:
God's Masterpiece is MOTHER
God took the fragrance of a flower...
The majesty of a tree...
The gentleness of morning dew....
The calm of a quiet sea...
The beauty of the twilight hour....
The soul of a starry night...
The laughter of a rippling brook...
The grace of a bird in flight...
Then God fashioned from these things
A creation like no other,
And when the masterpiece was through
He called it simply-MOTHER.
-Herbert Farnham
God could not be everywhere and therefore he made MOTHERS
A Daughters Goodbye......
I Said a Mother's Prayer for You
I said a Mother's prayer for you
to thank the Lord above
for blessing me with a lifetime
of your tender hearted love.
I thanked God for the caring
you've shown me through the years,
for the closeness we've enjoyed
in times of laughter and of tears.
And so, I thank you from the heart
for all you've done for me
and I bless the Lord for giving me
the best mother there could be!
As I Look Back.......
As I look back on my life
I find myself wondering...
Did I remember to thank you
for all that you have done for me?
For all of the times you were by my side
to help me celebrate my successes
and accept my defeats?
Or for teaching me the value of hard work,
good judgment, courage, and honesty?
I wonder if I've even thanked you for the simple things...
The laughter, smiles, and quiet times we've shared?
If I have forgotten to express my gratitude
For any of these things,
I am thanking you now...
and I am hoping that you've known all along
how much you are loved and appreciated as my Mother
M-O-T-H-E-R
“M” is for the million things she gave to me,
“O” means only that she's growing old,
“T” is for the tears she shed to save me,
“H” is for her heart of purest gold;
“E” is for her eyes, with love-light shining,
“R” means right, and right she'll always be,
Put them all together, they spell “MOTHER,'
A word that means the world to me.
-Howard Johnson (c.1915)
From Your Loving Daughters...Carol and Pat
“We love you and miss you Mom, but, we will be together again.”
God's most Precious work of art is the Warmth
and Love of a Grandmother's Heart
My Grandma.....
My Grandma had so many fine qualities of which I will name a few,
she had a generous caring nature and a loving heart, too..
My Grandma always saw the good in everyone, no matter what they
had done, a bad word she would speak of no one...
My Grandma will always be there for me no matter where she is,
she was my best friend who shared with me a Special Bond...
Grandma, the last time I spoke to you, you remembered me not,
but in my heart I know you have not forgot.....
Grandma, as we say our goodbyes,
tears are falling from our eyes, and how I hurt so....
Grandma, you will always be in our memories and hearts,
and, remember how much we LOVE YOU,
and, that you have and always will be a very
Special Grandma to me.....
From Your Loving Grandsons......Jim and Dave
“We love you Grandma and we will see you and Grandpa again someday.”
Great-Grandmas are Moms with lots of Frosting!
Mom, I know that after Daddy passed away, the time just never seemed
right to go to Georgia and spend some time with your Great-Grandson,
Jonathan David. Your dementia and health problems stole that
precious time away, but, you would be very proud of Jon since he is growing
into a very fine young man. I found this poem online, and, a lot of what you
would have conveyed to him, is written in this letter...
Letter to my Great-Grandson
By the time you read this, you will be a big boy.
I know you will be kind, funny, wise, sensitive, interesting, and a ball of fire!
Your Dad was all of these and more!
I know you will be strong and a wonderful hugger. Your father was too!
I wish you happy, happy, days! You will have some bad days, too.
They are important so you can appreciate the good ones.
There will be disappointments; I know you will be able to handle them.
Life is 10% of what happens and 90% how you handle it.
I pray you learn about humility.
Please always let an outsider feel inside, and always, be kind.
I hope you learn that honesty is the best policy, and
that doing a hard days work will always make you feel better.
Be a loyal friend, one people can count on and trust.
I hope you put all of these wonderful things you possess
to make yourself and the world around you a better place to live in.
Please learn about the “God Stuff”, it really works, trust me.
You have such a wonderful Mother and Father that can
teach you all the good things in life.
Remember how to play, for you are in for a loving time,
I hope we will keep each other close always,
Great-Grandpa and I will watch over you
from Heaven until the day you come to be with us Forever.
-parts of the letter by Susan L. Schmidt
Remember this Jonathan...
Great-Grandma`s never run out of Hugs and Cookies...
I'll send you Hugs from Heaven and every time
you eat a cookie you will know that Great-Grandma
helped to make it just for you.....
Because I feel that in the heavens above
The angels, whispering one to another,
Can find among their burning tears of love,
None so devotional as that of “Mother,”
Therefore, by that dear name I have long called you,
You who are more than mother onto me.
-Edgar Allan Poe
A Message From Heaven
My spirit rises every time you pray for me,
but my energy comes closer to you.
Love does not diminish, it grows stronger.
I am the feather that finds you in the yard,
the dimmed light that grows brighter
in your mind.
I place our memories for you to see.
We lived in our special way,
a way that now has its focus changed.
I still crave your understanding and
long for the many words of prayer
and good fortune for my soul.
I am in the Light.
As you struggle to adjust without me,
I watch silently.
Sometimes I summon up all the strength
of my new world to make you notice me.
Impressed by your grief,
I try to impress my love
deeper into your consciousness.
As you should,
I call out to the Heavens for help.
You should know that the fountain of youth does exist.
My soul is healthy.
Your love sends me new found energy.
I am adjusting to this new world.
I am with you and I am in the Light.
Please don't feel bad that you can't see me.
I am with you wherever you go.
I protect you,
just as you protected me so many times.
Talk to me and somehow I will
find a way to answer you.
Daughter, Grandson or Great-Grandson,
it makes no difference.
Whatever our connection-friend or even foe-
I see you with my new eyes.
I am learning to help wherever you are,
where ever I am needed.
This can be done because I am in the Light.
When you feel despair, reach out to me.
I will come.
Our love for you truly does transcend
from Heaven to Earth.
Finish your life with the enthusiasm and zest
that you had when we were together
in the physical sense.
You owe this to me, but more importantly,
you owe it to yourself.
Life continues for both of us.
I am with you because I love you
and I am in the Light.
-Author Unknown
And Always Remember...
God did not promise sun without rain,
light without darkness,
or joy without pain.
He only promised us strength for the day
when the darkness comes
and we lose our way.
For only through sorrow do we grow
more aware that God is our refuge
in times of despair.
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in Heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
-Matthew 6:9-13
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
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