Carol Stavem

Minot

Carol Marie Stavem, 88, passed away peacefully in her sleep Friday, November 17th, at Trinity Nursing Home, where she has resided since 2020.

Carol was born January 19, 1935, in Fargo, ND, the oldest of five girls born to Charles and Minnie (nee) Schuster. She lived on a farm near Douglas until she was nine, when she went with her father to Kenmare and Garrison as he looked for work. When she was 13, she lived with her parents and sister Mary in Minot. After the death of her father when she was 14, she moved to Mohall in1951 to work on the farm with her mother.

This farm would eventually become her home when she married Howard Stavem on Dec. 18, 1951, when she was just one month shy of her 17th birthday. They were a uniquely unmatched couple, from their physical builds to their personality. Howard was quiet, and she was anything but. He was slow and methodical, and she was fast to jump in. He would quiet her mind, and she would get his thinking. They balanced each other out in many ways and made each other stronger for it.

Howard and Carol farmed until 1969, when they sold the homestead and moved to Minot. Carol worked at several local hotels in the area (Kenmore, Capri, and Fairview), the American Legion, Job Corps, and then went to work for Trinity Hospital in the laundry for many years. Carol went back to school and got her GED at age 65. After her retirement from the hospital, she worked as a caregiver for Ward County. At age 70, she went to work for Experience Works, and worked at the Rehab Store for five years. She finally retired at age 75. In 2011, they lost their home to the flood, but had a new house built that they thoroughly enjoyed from 2014 to 2020, when she moved into Trinity Homes.

Carol was a force to be reckoned with to those who knew her. She had an indomitable spirit, and her faith in God stood her well throughout her life. Those she took under her wing and chose to stand up for knew they had an iron angel at their back. Likewise, if she set her sights on you and thought you needed a little extra guidance, you knew it. Small, but mighty!

Due to this strong spirit, her son Kurt says “Mom, I’m sure I’m going to miss you. You taught me to be a good man. You knew my mistakes and still never gave up on the man you knew I could be.” Another says of her, “I was guided more than once, with love.”

Carol took care of her husband until she was no longer able to do so at home. He died in 2022. Carol loved nothing more than to go on vacation, no matter where, or to have all of her kids home, and watch the grandkids play. She was a member of the Apostolic Pentecostal Church, and loved the close ties she had among her brothers and sisters there. She also loved her Parkinson Group.

Carol was predeceased by her husband of 70 years, Howard Stavem; her son Ray Stavem, her parents, two sisters, Demeris Westley and Doris Walberg, five grandchildren: Richard Harris, Jennifer Cunningham, Matthew Rovig, Christian and Charles Stavem, and one great-grandson Thomas Young.

Carol is survived by: daughters: Mary Schimmel, Linda Harshman, Rose (Matt) Enney, daughter-in-law Sue Stavem, and sons Dale (Tannis) Stavem, and Kurt (Jennifer) Stavem, 16 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren, two sisters, Mary Larson of Minot and Donna Poeschel of WA, four nieces and one nephew.

Funeral service: Wednesday, November 22, in the Apostolic Pentecostal Faith Church at 10:30 a.m. followed by a luncheon. To view a delayed streaming of the service or send a message of sympathy please go to the funeral home website at (www.thomasfamilyfuneralhome.com).

Interment: to follow the luncheon at Mohall Cemetery at 2:45 in the afternoon.

Visitation: Tuesday, November 21, 2023, from 4:00-6:00 p.m. in Thomas Family Funeral Home, Minot.

Memorials: The family asks memorials be donated in Carol’s name to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, a non-profit organization.

Published by The Minot Daily News November 20, 2023.