Carolyn M Teague

Carolyn May Teague, aged 82, passed away peacefully on the morning of April 20, 2015, after a decades-long and hard-fought battle with a chronic lung infection. In her final days she was surrounded by friends and family and was extremely well cared for by her long-time physician and the staff at Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater, FL.

Carolyn was born in Detroit, MI, in 1932. She was the third child, and only daughter, of Lydia and Otto Golm. She graduated from Concordia Lutheran High School in Fort Wayne, IN, and attended the Henry Ford Hospital School of Nursing in Detroit, MI. After graduation, she practiced as a Registered Nurse at Ford Hospital in Detroit, and later at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, MI, where she had a wide range of roles. During this time, she met Fred Teague on Metropolitan Beach, where he was a lifeguard. The two dated for several years before Carolyn moved to California. After a relatively brief stint working at a blood bank in San Francisco where, among other things, she regularly drew blood from the prisoners at San Quentin State Penitentiary, she returned to her native Michigan where she continued her nursing career.

Back in Michigan, Carolyn resumed her long courtship with Fred. As Fred’s father liked to say later, Carolyn “chased Fred until he caught her”, and the two were wed on May 5, 1960. Carolyn and Fred had three children between 1962 and 1965. Ever the epitome of capability and a “can do” spirit, Carolyn happily moved to Germany, while 7 months pregnant and with a 3-year old and 2-year old in tow, so that Fred could continue his climb up the professional ladder. The family returned to Chicago in 1967, where they raised their family and lived until moving to Clearwater, FL.

Carolyn and Fred started coming to Clearwater, FL, in 1981 and became permanent residents there in 1985. Carolyn vigorously pursued golf, which she loved with a passion, boating, aboard the couple’s trawler Grand Adventure, and continued a life-long passion for games – especially cards and, in particular, bridge. Anyone who ever played with Carolyn learned very quickly that she always played fair and always played to win! She was also very involved in helping her community, holding offices at her church and golf club and volunteering her time for many worthy causes.

A life-long and committed Christian, Carolyn loved and followed her Lord Jesus Christ and both she and Fred raised their children to do the same. As her time on earth was coming to an end, she was incredibly comforted by her strong faith and was, in her own words, “ready to meet my Lord”.

Carolyn was preceded in death by her father, Otto Golm, her mother, Lydia Golm, and her oldest brother, Otto Golm, Jr.

Carolyn is survived by her husband, Fred, her brother, Robert, her three children, Cynthia, Rick, and Nancy, and her seven grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 23, 2015, at the Serenity Gardens Funeral Home, located at 13401 Indian Rocks Road in Largo, FL.