Carol Joy Zoeller

Carol Joy Zoeller

1940-2024

Carol Joy Zoeller died peacefully on May 8, 2024, in the presence of her family at her Altadena, California, home of 50 years.

Carol was born on “Boxing Day”, December 26, 1940, in Madison, Wisconsin.  She was the third child and second daughter of Elvin and Edna (nee Storlid) Olson and was proud of her 100 percent Norwegian heritage.  Elvin was killed in action in WWII when Carol was three years old, and Edna raised seven children to adulthood.

After the death of her father, Carol’s uncle and grandfather built a small family home for Edna on land that Lloyd owned in Cambridge, Wisconsin, near beautiful Lake Ripley.  Her fond memories of swimming, skating and growing up at her childhood home on the lake were the most enduring of her life and the place she returned to as often as she could.  Following Edna’s second marriage, the family moved back to Madison, and Carol attended and graduated from Madison East High School in 1959.

In the summer of ’59, Carol met a 17-year-old junior lifeguard on the Madison beach where they were both working. It was the beginning of a 65-year romance that took Carol and Mike Zoeller on the voyage of their lives, managing successful careers, raising two wonderful children and traveling widely.

An excellent student, Carol was the first in her family to attend university and enrolled directly at the University of Wisconsin, majoring in Education.  The summer of her sophomore year, she entered and reached the finals of Wisconsin’s Alice in Dairyland contest, where she won the title of “Most Winsome.”  Carol and Mike were married and their first child, Jennifer, was born while they were attending the UW and she received her Bachelor’s degree in Education from UW in 1964.

From there, it was off to Indiana’s Purdue University graduate school where the couple had their second child, Anna, and Carol received a Master’s in Education with a major in Special Education in 1970.  While at Purdue, Carol organized the first department of Special Education for Jefferson High School in Lafayette, across the Wabash River from the Purdue campus in West Lafayette.

In 1972, the family briefly resided in New Jersey, where Carol again organized the first Special Education department, this time for the Rumson, NJ School District.  For their final family move, the family changed course and headed for Southern California, eventually residing in the Pasadena area.  Carol quickly accepted a position at Villa Esperanza in Pasadena and, while working full time at Villa, completed her education by receiving a PhD in Special Education from UCLA/Cal State LA in 1980.  Carol was appointed Villa’s Executive Director in 1987 and continued in that position until her retirement in 1994.

Wishing to remain active after retirement, in 1995, Carol started her own educational practice, Zoeller & Associates, specializing in individual instruction for students of all grade levels with specific learning differences. She was eventually joined by her daughters, creating a true “family practice.” Carol retired a second time in 2014 after a diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease, and her daughters have continued to carry on her legacy. 

Carol was actively involved locally with The Altadena Guild of Huntington Memorial Hospital, having co-chaired two of the guild’s home tours and volunteered for many years at the Huntington Hospital.  She was also a member and past president of Pasadena Zonta and a strong supporter of her husband’s involvement with the Rotary Club of Altadena.

To all of Carol’s family and friends, she was known as warm, generous and outgoing, with a beautiful smile that would light up any occasion. She loved being active and was always outside -  gardening, walking, hiking, biking, and playing golf with her family and friends. She also enjoyed international travel, visiting England, France, Corsica, Germany, Italy, Spain, New Zealand, Norway and most of the States of the Union. Yet she was happiest when surrounded by her family and especially treasured the month-long summer vacations the family took in the Monterey Peninsula area for nearly 20 years.

Carol is survived by her husband Mike, her two daughters Jennifer and Anna (Glenn) Walker, grandsons Joshua and Michael Kuekes, granddaughter Sophie Walker, her sisters, Sylvia and Sandy and numerous nieces and nephews, including Tammy and Theresa Hustad who lived with the family for several years.  She was predeceased by her parents, brothers David, John and James Olson and sister Nancy Hustad.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, August 11, 2024, from 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM, at the Altadena Town and Country Club.  Please see event details on this site for more information and to RSVP.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to:

• Altadena Guild - https://altadenaguild.org/donate/ - or

• Altadena Rotary Charities 

  c/o Sue Applegate, 

  3567 N Glenrose Ave, Altadena, CA 91001