Carolyn Marie Petrie

Carolyn Marie Petrie, affectionately known as Carol, died Sunday afternoon, August 11, 2013 at her home in Concho, Apache County, Arizona following a lengthy illness. She had just turned 72 years old the day before. Carol was born on August 10, 1941 in Sacramento, Sacramento County, California to her parents, the late Carl and Helen (Lusinski) Lundgren. Carol lived much of her younger years in Sacramento. She was a graduate of Sacramento's El Camino High School, Class of 1959. In May of 1961, Carol met her forever sweetheart at the USO in Sacramento. Just 5 short months later, the couple was married on October 1, 1961 at St. Mary's Catholic Church in her native city. They were happily married for 51 years and, in only 6 weeks, they were looking forward to celebrating their 52nd wedding anniversary together. Carol was an excellent homemaker for her family throughout the remainder of her life. Her house was immaculate in every way, both inside and out. When her children were little, she loved to see them off to school and, loved it even more when she was able to greet them when they returned home after school. She loved her family so much and saw to it that their every need was met. With her children grown and starting families of their own, Carol's joy was magnified greatly with the birth of each of her grandchildren. She loved doting on each and every one of them. In 1995, Carol's life made a dramatic change when she joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, along with her son. She had a deep and abiding love for the Savior Jesus Christ and knew him as her friend. For the past 18 years, she served in various capacities in The Church and even had the privilege to teach her Relief Society sisters nearly every week. She was a well-loved member of her church family and they will greatly miss her sweet and gentle ways. Along with her family, one of her greatest joys in life was being able to regularly attend the Snowflake Temple of the LDS Church. She truly felt a deep and abiding love for the special work she did within those sacred walls. She always made sure that she had a current temple recommend; even having hers renewed just weeks before she died. Carol had an incredible giving sense about her. Wherever there was a need, she filled it. It has been said of her that, "The word 'NO' did not exist within her vocabulary." She lived to serve the needs of others because she truly believed that when she did, she was only in the service of her God. In every sense of the word, she was a Christian. In every sense of the word, she was a wife and mother. And, in every sense of the word, she was a lady and was respected by everyone whom has ever had the privilege to call her "friend." Carol had many special talents and many of those talents were made manifest through the love she had for animals. She was expert at horseback riding and spent countless hours becoming the professional horsewoman that she was. She enjoyed riding her horses in her arena just outside her home as well as in the beauty of the forest that surrounded her home in Concho, where she has lived since 1994. She had a menagerie of other pets at home including: her 7 dogs; 3 cats and 2 birds. Now they all seem to be wondering just when she'll be back home. Carol also dedicated many years of her life to helping families in Search and Rescue operations. She volunteered her time and energy in the hopes that something positive would come from her efforts and, wherever the search and rescue teams were needed, she was there. She also became a special friend to one particular dog who had a nearly perfect recording in tracking those whom were missing and thought to be forever lost. Many times Carol would try to hide 2 miles from where this amazing dog was only to be "found" a short time later. The bond that they shared was surely individual and unique. Carol is survived by her husband, Harry F. Petrie of Concho, Arizona; 2 children: Sheri Kunz of St. Johns, Arizona, Robert Petrie of Gilroy, California and 7 grandchildren. Along with her parents, Carol was preceded in death by a sister, Evelyn, nearly 30 years ago. The funeral service for Carol will begin 12 Noon, Saturday, August 17, 2013 at the Concho Branch chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 34 Cinder Lane in Concho, Arizona where the visitation will begin 1 hour prior. The Petrie family is thankful for all of the expressions of sympathy they have received during this difficult season and are especially grateful for all of the prayers offered up in their behalf. A special gratitude of thanks is also extended to Hospice Compassus for the tender and loving care they gave Carol during these past several weeks. You are all angels. Memorial contributions, in Carol's name, to Hospice Compassus C/O: The White Mountain Hospice Foundation, P.O. Box 1975, Lakeside, Arizona 85929 have been suggested by her family.