Carol Elizabeth Loh

Carol was born in Chicago, IL, the youngest of two sisters until a third sister came along years later. She was a sensitive and bright child. She began work early and spent some time as an operator for Bell South. She lived at home until she met and eventually married her husband, Ralph. When, Ralph joined the US Navy as an Officer in Training, the couple moved to Portsmouth VA where their first child, Kathy, was born. When Ralph completed his military obligation, the family moved to South Bend, IN, where their second child, Robert, was born. It wasn’t long before the family packed up a moving van and station wagon and drove across the country to establish themselves in San Diego, a town Ralph had discovered while in the Navy. Shortly after their arrival, their son, Robert, died in a tragic accident. After a period of grief, Ralph and Carol bought their first home in a new neighborhood in San Diego and their two sons, Richard and Roger were born. This period of time was a kind of idyllic suburban family life in a neighborhood filled with young families with children. Eventually, they moved up to another new home, this time in University City, where they lived for 50 years. Carol and Ralph sang in the choir first at Northminster Presbyterian Church and later at Pacific Beach Presbyterian. They enjoyed bowling in leagues and developed strong and lasting friendships with a number of other families. These families are still connected today, even as the children have grown and have families of their own. They would spend Thanksgiving together and gather for an annual Gazpacho/pool party hosted by Carol and Ralph. Carol’s interests were reading, gardening (especially her roses), sewing (she was an excellent seamstress having sewn her own wedding dress and many clothes for her children as well as décorative items for the home.). She also enjoyed travel, theater, crossword puzzles and nature, especially birds. On the many family camping trips, she would take the opportunity to walk the nature trails with her children and established in them a deep and abiding love for flora and fauna. Carol’s sister remembers her as talented and artistic. She also had an advanced command of the English language and her inquiring mind was thirsty for truth. After the children left home, Carol returned to work at Anchor Travel Agency in Pacific Beach as a bookkeeper. She also became VP of Design Enterprises Inc, Ralph’s company. Together the couple traveled to many places in Europe, Russia, Tahiti, Hawaii, New Zealand, Mexico. The family took annual camping trips to San Felipe Baja which included lots of dune buggy rides and windsurfing. Carol and Ralph also formed an RV camping group with several other couples from their church and dubbed it Road Schooners. Carol and Ralph were avid fans and supporters of the Aztecs and attended annual Holiday Bowls. Carol also enjoyed the Padres games and her grandson’s baseball games. She continued to attend games and went to performances at Old Globe Theater until very recently. Ralph and Carol celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary. Ralph passed away in 2007. Carol remained in the family home for a few more years and then moved to Wesley Palms. Carol was a fighter and didn’t let two falls in the past 2 years keep her down. She attended Wesley Palms Chair exercise class as faithfully as possible. Unfortunately, cancer proved to be too formidable a foe and she passed with family surrounding her on April 30th. She was greatly loved by her children and friends and will be missed. Her children remember her for instilling in them a love for nature, truth, family values, music, travel, and gardening. Her daughter, Kathy, wrote a blog post for mother’s day 2010 that speaks to love of nature she received from her mother. https://kathyloh.wordpress.com/2010/05/08/a-mother-a-daughter-and-a-love-for-nature/ Carol leaves behind two sisters, three children, their spouses, 5 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. Her second great grandchild is expected to arrive in early June. Memorial services will be held at Pacific Beach Presbyterian Church, Saturday, July 18, 2015 at 2:00 PM. Contributions may be made to Pacific Beach Presbyterian Church Music Fund, Audubon Society, Silverado Hospice, or Breast Cancer Research. We welcome your remembrances of Carol.