Carol was born to William and Carolyn Alderson on December 13, 1931. She and her sister Flora and brother Jim were raised in North Park. Carol attended San Diego High School where she formed deep friendships that she nurtured for her entire life.

She worked for the phone company, and enjoyed traveling, especially to Mexico, where she met her husband Dick. They were married July 14, 1958 and enjoyed 50 wonderful years of marriage together. They had two children, Cristina in 1959, and Rick in 1962. The family lived in North Park, and she and Dick reside in the house they bought in 1969.

After raising her children, Carol earned her real estate license and had a very successful career selling real estate and then as a property manager for Thomas Realty. She retired in the early '90s and used her time to volunteer at San Diego High School and at Young Audiences.

Carol and Dick enjoyed many world travels together. They saw much of Europe and Russia together, but their primary love was their trips to Mexico. They went on annual trips to Acapulco for many years before finding their "home away from home" in Mazatlan. They spent five weeks in the fall and again in spring at the LindaMar hotel and formed a wonderful community of friends who meet down there every year.

Carol treasured the summers when her three grandchildren, Evan, Josh and Jessica would visit, along with Christmas time when the whole family was together. She created a beautiful home, and she and Dick loved the times they could spend working in the garden together and enjoying each others' company on the patio.

Her life was full of happiness and she touched the lives of many people with her optimistic outlook, her willingness to help, and her ability to accomplish almost anything. We all learned much from her, and she will live on in all of us.