Carole Wangsgard

Carole Kay Wood Wangsgard

November 27, 1938 ~ February 12, 2021

Friday, February 12, 2021, our beloved and beautiful Carole Kay Wood Wangsgard, passed from this life, finally free of physical restrictions, and pain. We will miss her more than is possible to express.

She was born in Ogden, Utah at the old Dee Hospital November 27, 1938, the first child of her proud parents, Sterling Ben Wood and Ruth Collard Wood.

When Carole was nine years old, she contracted a serious childhood illness for which there was no cure—rheumatic fever. Carole, with her mother's constant bedside care, miraculously recovered; however, her heart was permanently damaged, and doctors told her parents not to expect her to make it past her twenties. She was never allowed to participate in any athletic activities or do any strenuous work—instead, she became an avid reader and remained so to her death. She even started a book club several years ago with the women in her neighborhood.

Her parents left Huntsville for a time and moved to Salt Lake City where Carole attended Olympus High School, graduating from there in 1957. She then attended college at Dixie in St. George and after that began school at the University of Utah. When her father built a home in Huntsville for the family, she moved back to be with them.

She married Kent Wangsgard on January 12, 1963. They met while she had been working at one of the few original fast-food places in the Valley, the Ski Inn. Kent's grandfather told Kent, who was helping fix fences on some of their nearby farm property, that he wanted to take him to lunch at the new restaurant on the highway. Louis knew full-well Carole was working there, a strikingly beautiful girl with long black hair, and after their first meeting, Kent was smitten. Needless to say, they went there for lunch on a regular basis following that first encounter. Carole and Kent have since celebrated their 58th Wedding Anniversary.

Kent joined the Army and was stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and Carole became an Army wife. It was during this time that their first child was born, a baby boy with big blue eyes, Benjamin Robert.

After a serving in the Army, Kent wanted to return to civilian life and the couple came back to Ogden where Carole completed her BA Degree at the University of Utah. They adopted their second child at this time, being warned another pregnancy would be far too dangerous for Carole—a darling infant girl, Karlyn Kay, who completed their family.

Carole's life has been truly amazing. She loved to travel and has been all over the world, in spite of doctor's orders advising her against it. She even defied the high altitudes (17,500 feet) at the base camp of the North Face of Mount Everest.

She has pulled through several open-heart surgeries, one near fatal brain surgery, and countless tests and medical procedures in her lifetime without any complaint or self-pity. (Kent remembers many times that he was told she would not make it through the night.) Her brain tumor and the surgery to remove it rendered her paralyzed on her left side, but she continued to do a lot of her own cleaning, and cooking (she is an excellent cook).

Carole was kind, generous, and loved everyone. She never complained and was always ready to help anyone at any time. Anyone that ever-met Carole loved her.

Carole is survived by her dedicated, loving husband, Kent; son, Ben and his wife, Laura; daughter, Karlyn and her husband, Stephen Mosier; eight grandchildren, who all adore her and lovingly call her "Grandma,"  Morgan, Mistie, Sarah, Amanda, Samantha, Eli, Sammi, and Alyssa; and five great-grandchildren; her three sisters, Suzie (Max), Becky, Willow (Alan);  and sister-in-law, Ruth (Kirk) who all love her beyond measure; her little brother Brett, who adored her too, preceded her to heaven in 1994; three devoted sisters-in-law, Lynn (Dick) Sadler, Jo (Al) Crane, and Ruth (Art) Nielsen; Aunt Betty Collard Glad of Salt Lake; and many Collard, Wood, Wangsgard cousins who are all very special relatives.

Carole has many nieces and nephews she loved and supported throughout their lives. She was known as “My Bear Lake Grandma” by one niece because she enjoyed the great fun of going to the Kent/Carole condo in Bear Lake. She also has many lifelong friends and neighbors that she loves, too many to list. We hope you know who you are and how much Carole loved and appreciated her association with you.

We thank God every day for Carole, our queenly, courageous wife, mother, sister, friend who fought so hard and for so long to far outlive those dark predictions from her childhood. She blessed our lives every day with her noble presence and we are so grateful that time and time again she proved the experts wrong. We love and admire her so much.

The family would like to thank the many, many friends, family, doctors and caregivers that have loved and helped Carole throughout her life.

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, February 17, 2021 at 11 a.m. at Lindquist’s Ogden Mortuary, 3408 Washington Blvd. Friends may visit with family on Wednesday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the mortuary. Interment, Huntsville Cemetery.

Services will be live-streamed by scrolling to the bottom of Carole’s obituary.

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