Born in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, in 1935, Carol was the daughter of the late Eva and Sol Blumberg. She attended Oberlin College, graduating in 1957 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in kindergarten-primary education. While taking a photography class at nearby Kent State University, she met architect Ronald Godes, who became her loving husband and partner of 50 years.
Carol and Ron shared a passion for learning and an interest in other cultures. From 1972 to 1974 they lived with their three children on the agricultural campus of Addis Ababa University (then Haile Selassie I University) in Alemaya, Ethiopia. Carol taught kindergarten and first grade at the campus school for faculty and staff children, while Ron oversaw the construction of a classroom building and dormitory. They explored Ethiopia and Kenya and developed a robust community of friends among the university’s Ethiopian and international faculty, staff and students.
After returning to the United States, Carol earned a master’s degree in early childhood education from Cleveland State University in 1978. She taught in the Cleveland city school system for more than 25 years, providing intensive assessment and remediation for at-risk kindergarteners and helping hundreds of children learn to read. She received many recognitions for her work. Toward the end of her career, Carol and Ron founded Kids Love Notes, a small company that made brightly colored notes that teachers could use to foster communication between young children and the adults in their families.
Carol, a skilled watercolor artist, loved to create. She filled her house with art and her garden with flowers. She enjoyed sewing, making clothing for her daughters and herself, and crafting home accessories. Both Carol and Ron were docents for the Cleveland Museum of Art, presenting art appreciation programs to children in area schools through the museum’s Art to Go program. They also volunteered with and supported the Cleveland Play House and the Cleveland Orchestra.
Carol worked with a group of Jewish women volunteers to write, edit, and perform scripts about Israel’s history and culture for schools and community groups. The project sought to promote positive discussion and interaction, focusing on how the lives of Israel’s Arab and Jewish populations were intertwined.
In 2000, Carol and Ron established an endowed scholarship, the Carol ’57 and Ronald Godes Scholarship, to help women students attend Oberlin College.
Ron died in 2005, and in 2017 Carol moved to Washington, DC, to live with her daughter Cynthia in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood. She remained active, volunteering at the local elementary school and participating in activities with Mt. Pleasant Village, including weekly mahjong and meditation groups. A good cook with an eye to healthy eating and a love of chocolate, she was a generous neighbor and a loving grandmother of three.
Carol was preceded in death by her parents and her husband Ronald. She is survived by her three children and their spouses, Lauren Godes-Goodman (Doug Goodman), Cynthia Godes (David Blackstun), Robert Godes (Susan); a brother, Sheldon Blumberg; and grandchildren Eva Louise Goodman, Eric Goodman, and Moriah Godes.
Services were held Tuesday July 16 at BERKOWITZ-KUMIN-BOOKATZ MEMORIAL CHAPEL, 1985 S. Taylor Rd. Cleveland Height, Ohio 44118.
Interment Mayfield Cemetery.
In lieu of gifts, memorial contributions may be sent to the Carol ’57 and Ronald Godes Scholarship Fund at Oberlin College. Donations to the Fund can be made online at https://advance.oberlin.edu/donate. In the dropdown menu select “Other” and type in “Carol ’57 and Ronald Godes Scholarship Fund.”
To view this service please navigate to https://youtu.be/uWkn3oQiMEs.
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