Carol Jean Weber Williams

CAROL JEAN WEBER WILLIAMS

Iowa City

Carol Jean Weber Williams, an Iowa City native, was born into life on Feb. 9, 1931, to Carl Pryce and Ruth Nelson Weber, and born into eternal life on March 3, 2020.

Carol's life will be celebrated 11 a.m. Monday, March 9, 2020, at the River Community Church, 3001 Muscatine Ave. in Iowa City, with a reception to follow and burial at the Oakland Cemetery in Iowa City. Her family will greet friends from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday at the church.

To share a thought, memory or condolence with her family, please visit the funeral home website at www.gayandciha.com.

Carol attended University Elementary School and graduated from University High School in 1949. She graduated from the University of Iowa with a B.A. in social work in 1987. Carol and Claude Williams (of Coralville), were married May 4, 1951.

Carol had many varied interests – being an avid reader of history, politics and mysteries, table games, an avid Iowa Hawkeyes, especially supporting the men's basketball and football teams, tennis player (one-time girls champion), pianist, gardener of veggies and flowers, compiling photo albums of family, friends and trips and, of course, her love of her dogs! She and Claude loved to travel – around the U.S. and abroad. They traveled to Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Mexico and Canada. They served with SEND International Missions, a non-denominational missions organization building Bible colleges and churches in Far East Russia and Ukraine. Many U.S. trips began with a tent, then graduated to a fold-out camper, and later moved up to a motor home. Colorado was a favorite place, the mountains and whitewater rafting.

Carol was an at-home Mom till the children were in junior high, then began working part time at The River Church for more than 50 years. She worked for Dr. Lorraine H. Frost. She also worked at West High School when West and North West Junior High were combined.

She was a volunteer at the Iowa City Crisis Intervention Center and suicide line for 15 years. She remembered when The Food Bank began with just one can of green beans, when it had been downtown above Lorenz's Shoe Store! Carol was a standardized patient for the University of Iowa College of Medicine since the program began in the 1970s. She worked as a simulated patient to help train freshmen and sophomore medical students in interviewing patients. Claude and Carol worked with the annual Thanksgiving dinner for the community at The River Church. They provided music and Christmas carols at the annual Homeless Children's Trust Party every Christmas at The Moose Lodge. They provided a program for the residents of Walden Place each month. Carol had been on the original board of the Iowa City Christian Women's Club, which began in 1967 serving in many capacities. Above all, Carol was able to talk and listen so easily with family, friends and strangers. Many conversations began in grocery stores!

Carol purchased VW Bugs and Hillman Minx Cars – much to Claude's consternation, as he labored to keep them running! Carol and Claude often commented how thankful they were to have lived through many challenging decades – favorite words being "mayhem" and "chaos!"

Carol was preceded in death by her parents; three baby brothers who died at their birth or shortly after, Grant, Dale and Nelson; son, Steven Pryce Williams; son-in-law, Gene Allen; and grandson, Joel James Allen.

Carol is survived by her husband, Claude; daughter, Christi Allen of Iowa City; daughter-in-law, Linda Williams of Iowa City; granddaughter, Jeni Allen Beas of North Carolina; grandson, Jesse (Laurie) Allen of Iowa City; granddaughter, Stephanie Prosper of Williamsburg; and great-grandchildren, Kiki Prosper, Mystique Prosper, Zoe Beas, Cruz Beas, Gabriel Beas, Evan Allen, Olivia Allen and Aiden Allen.