Carole Marie Willadsen

Carole Marie Willadsen was born February 23, 1952 in Canton, SD, to Russell C and Jean F Willadsen. Her early years were spent in Parker, SD, graduating from Parker High School in 1970. She went on to SDSU obtaining a Home Economics Education Degree in 1974. In 1988 she received a BS in Accounting from Augustana College in Sioux Falls. She earned a Master of Divinity specializing in music and worship from Western Seminary in 1995, and a Master of Theology from Western Seminary in 1997. She taught school for 3 years, and practiced accounting in Minneapolis, Sioux Falls and Portland, OR. The past eight years she worked for the Salvation Army of the Greater Portland Area. Carole was baptized at age 8 in First Baptist Church in Parker and was a dedicated member of Oakhill Presbyterian Church where she taught Bible Studies and sang with the choir. She loved to study and learn new ideas; one of her greatest joys had been to assist a former pastor with sermon preparation by researching scripture passages in Greek and Hebrew. Carole enjoyed baking bread, pies and cakes, and shared them with friends and family. She did sewing, embroidery, needlepoint and crewel and was remembered for her gifts of classic books to children in the family. She liked to garden, especially picking berries at her father’s farm. But her passion in life was music and worship as she loved to sing, and played the piano from an early age at church and for her own enjoyment. Carole loved discussing politics, religion, music and sports with her favorite people. Her home was filled with books and teddy bears that she had collected over the years. Miss Willadsen passed away unexpectedly on May 7, 2009, at work from a heart attack. Preceding her in death were her mother and father, her brother Mark, her aunts Dorothy Willadsen, Lois Kasten, and Thelma Snider, and her uncle Wilfred Forbes. Left to mourn her passing are her sisters Jill Willadsen of Parker, Dawn (Dave) Plooster of Mt Pleasant, IA; nieces Kari (Ryan) Smith of Sioux Falls, Katie (Mike) Lauer of Fairfield, IA, Annelise Plooster of Des Moines, IA, and Amy Plooster of Mt Pleasant, IA; aunts Virginia Thorsen and Vicki Durham of California; uncle Loren Kasten of Mitchell; special cousins David (Roxi) Kasten of Mitchell, Larry (Jacqueline) Kasten of Sioux Falls, and a host of other relatives and friends. Services will be held in First Baptist Church of Parker on May 14 at 11:00am. Visitation will be on May 13, Wednesday beginning at 4:00pm at the Hofmeister-Jones Funeral Home, Parker. Another memorial service will be held at Oakhill Church in Oregon on another date. Interment will be at Rosehill Cemetery in Parker. For obituary and online registry please visit www.hofmeisterjones.com