Carol Jean Willits
September 27, 1919 – January 11, 2012
Carol Jean Willits, 92, of Bainbridge Island, WA, passed away January 11 2012, at Harrison Hospital, Silverdale WA, after a brief illness. Carol is survived by her husband of 62 years, Don, also of Bainbridge Island, WA; her son Christopher, his wife Elizabeth, and their daughters Natalie and Grace, all of Bainbridge Island; and her son Patrick, his wife Debra, their daughter Samantha, and their son Orion, all of Ridgway, CO.
Carol was born to Emery and Leda Fae Whitaker of Shell Rock, IA on September 27, 1919. She graduated from Waverly (IA) High School in 1937, and shortly thereafter left the family farm to move to California. After World War II, Carol moved to Pomona, CA to attend Thorn Business College. She met her future husband and life-long partner-to-be Don at the Willows Lounge in West Covina, CA in 1948. They married in Santa Maria, CA on December 17, 1949, and honeymooned in Santa Barbara, CA.
Carol and Don began married life in Covina, CA, where they lived, worked, and raised their two sons, until retiring in 1986. They moved to Lake Wohink, near Florence, OR, in 1991, and to the Madison Avenue Retirement Center on Bainbridge Island in 2006. During their time in Covina, Carol worked and later managed Fidelity Land Escrow Co, Covina Branch, 1956-1968; managed South Hills Escrow Corp, Covina Branch 1968-1978; and owned and managed with her husband Don the Heritage Escrow Co, Covina, 1978-1986.
Carol was a member of the Covina Women’s Club, the Eastern Star, the Florence, OR Elks Club, the Florence RV Club, and the Peace Harbor (Florence, OR) Hospital Guild. In her professional life, Carol was renowned for her diligent work ethic, extreme attention to detail, personal service, and highest standards of honesty. In her personal life, she and Don will be remembered for quietly and unceremoniously choosing to serve as benefactors to provide for the college education of one of their young employees, Lilly Lu, of Monterey Park, CA.
Among her family and friends, Carol will be remembered for her always smiling and caring joie de vivre, and her never faltering love and devotion to those she loved. Carol literally never said a negative word about a friend or loved one. She was the queen of positive thinking. She will be remembered for her fondness for neatness, organization, white and blush wines, lobster, all things the color purple, her love for Don, and her unwavering love for her two sons. Indeed, the only thing on earth Carol loved more than her two sons were the women they married and the grandchildren they gave her.
A memorial service celebrating Carol’s life was held at the Madison Avenue Retirement Center, Bainbridge Island, on Sunday January 15, 2012.
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