CAROL THOMPSON

Carol Thompson, 88, of Sugar Grove, IL passed peacefully surrounded by her loving family on Monday, April 29, 2024. Carol was born on January 23, 1936 in Oak Park, IL to loving parents Homer and Esther Cotta (nee Sandgren).

Carol grew up in Riverside, IL and attended local schools, eventually graduating from Riverside-Brookfield High School.  After graduating from high school Carol followed her dream of being a teacher by attending Northern Illinois University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Education.

Carol and her husband Lee met in high school. He was a sophomore, and she was a freshman.  They were in library study hall together.  One day Carol and her girlfriends were especially chatty, and the teacher decided it would be best to separate them.  Lucky for Carol and Lee, the teacher decided to have Carol and her Friend Doreen Scott, sit at the same table as Lee.  After study hall Doreen caught up with Lee in the hallway and let him know that Carol liked him. Well, at first he wasn’t so eager to start dating, but Carol persisted, and Lee would tell you that deciding to go out with her was the best decision he ever made.  They immediately were inseparable.  After high school Carol went off to Northern Illinois University to study Education and Lee took up studying to become a tool and die maker.  During the time that they were away from each other they would write letters to each other almost daily.  It was no secret that they missed one another dearly.  Lee is eternally grateful for his drafting and machine shop teacher from high school.  His teacher brought him to NIU to see the campus and planted a seed in Lee’s mind that he would make a great teacher.  That’s all it took, so when Carol was only a semester into her degree Lee decided to join her at NIU to study education as well.  The next year Carol and Lee married on September 3, 1955 at La Grange Methodist Church in La Grange, IL.

After graduating from college, Carol and Lee moved to Bensenville, IL where Carol had her first teaching job teaching 4^th grade.  After a year they moved to Roselle and Carol commuted and continued teaching there for another year. Carol stopped teaching in Bensenville after her second year because she was pregnant with their first child, Cathy, who was born in 1961.  Two years later, Carol gave birth to their son, Glenn, in 1963.  Carol doted on her children.  She even took time off from working as a teacher to stay home and raise their children.  She didn’t go back to teaching until 1967 when they had established their home in Sugar Grove.  Carol loved to cook for her family, it brought her great pride seeing her children grow from the delicious meals she prepared for them.  She wanted to do anything she could to help her children.  She even stepped in to help teach their daughter Cathy how to play T-Ball, when Lee was tied up with work.  Now you can ask anyone that knew Carol, she wasn’t exactly athletically gifted, but that didn’t stop her from getting in there and getting her hands dirty on the baseball diamond.  She was willing to do anything and everything if it meant she could spend extra time with her children.  Her love grew tenfold when her two grandchildren were born.  Now she had all the time in the world to devote to spoiling her grandson, Karl and granddaughter, Ann.  Carol and Lee took their grandchildren on vacation with them every year, heading to their favorite fishing spot in Northern Wisconsin.  Their grandkids enjoyed the time they spent fishing with their grandparents so much that, to Carol and Lee’s surprise, they still wanted to go with them even when they were in high school.

After years of teaching, Carol took a job working for Aurora College, now known as Aurora University, where she acted as the Assistant Registrar.  Her final job though, prior to retirement was for the Dukane Valley Consortium, now known as the Dukane Valley Council, where she filled the very important role of Executive Director.  The council represents 23 communities in DuPage County, Kane County, and neighboring counties.  The purpose of the council is to help list and resolve issues occurring across all the counties they serve.  Carol was especially proud of what she accomplished during her time with The Dukane Valley Council.  After retiring from the council, it was time for her to focus on spending time with her family and to delve into her hobbies.  In her free time, she enjoyed playing Bridge with Lee and their friends.  Also, if you weren’t aware, Carol was the crossword puzzle queen.  She had yet to find a crossword puzzle that she couldn’t solve.  Carol was a lifelong knitter.  She even knitted Lee a sweater when they were in high school, which by the way, he still fits in to.  Carol used her many gifts and talents to enrich the lives of her family and friends.  She was beyond kind and considerate.  She gave freely of her time and effort to those she loved most.  Over the years Carol compiled a long list of inspiring and uplifting quotes, so when a friend or family member was going through a difficult time, she would give them an envelope with 31 or so of her collected quotes so that they would have an uplifting quote for every day of the month.  She always put others first and was as loyal as they come. Finally, Carol and her husband Lee did several mission trips through church to assist in repairing homes damaged by floods, and through the Salvation Army to help with disaster relief such as fires and floods.  Carol had an unbreakable relationship with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and was a long time member of Sugar Grove United Methodist Church along with her husband Lee. Carol followed Jesus’ example when it came to caring for others. Her family and friends can only hope to carry on her legacy of compassionate care so that Carol can live on through them.  I’m sure Carol would ask that you do something nice for someone you know who may be going through a difficult time, this way her memory can carry on for many years to come through your good deeds. 

Carol leaves behind the love of her life, Lee, her husband of 68 years, her children; Cathy (Steve) Bluma and Glenn Thompson, and her grandchildren; Karl (Elaine) Bluma, and Ann (Eric) Sons.

Carol is reunited with her parents, Homer and Esther Cotta.

A memorial service for Carol will be held on Saturday, May 25, 2024 at 10:00a.m. at Sugar Grove United Methodist Church in Sugar Grove, IL.

In lieu of memorials, the family simply asks that you do something nice for someone with no expectation of anything in return, just like Carol did time and time again.