Carol Lee Carrick

About Carol

Carol Lee Carrick had a framed picture of Jesus hanging on his closet door by the foot of his bed

at the Todd County Care Center, the place he called home for the last few years of his life. (He

was known as the best dressed man in the building.)

Recently he stated, “Jesus was sitting at the end of my bed the other night.” Did he mean the

frame had fallen? No. He meant the actual Jesus. When asked what Jesus said to him, Carol

replied, “Nothing. And I didn’t say anything to him!” (We interpreted this as Carol playing

possum as he was not ready to go quite yet.)

Carol loved life so much that he beat the odds time after time over the years. But after one stroke

too many, he surrendered and did go to walk with Jesus on Thursday, April 21, 2022, just three

months short of his 93rd birthday.

Born in Clarissa, Minnesota, on July 24, 1929, to Richard and Nelly Carrick, Carol was the

youngest of Eleven children. The story is that his mother was sure she’d have girl and had the name

decided, so he was named Carol Lee with no traditional male spelling. This did cause some

confusion over the years in waiting rooms as his name was called.

But Carol was an all-American male. He enjoyed baseball, playing when he was younger and

faithfully watching the Twins whether they disappointed or not. He served his country, spending

time in Korea during his years in the Army. He served his community as a volunteer firefighter.

He took pleasure in fishing, hunting, tinkering in his garage and occasionally working on an

invention such as the “Carrick toilet lift” for which he sought a patent.

His signature look was decidedly Western with pearl-snap button-down shirts, jeans, western

boots and even a cowboy hat if he was crying an auction. (But he did love his baseball hats.) He

was a voracious reader of anything and everything Western whether it was Louis l’Amour novels

or Western magazines describing the actual stories of Jesse James and the like. The TV channel

was usually tuned to Gunsmoke.

Carol was passionate about classic country music, favoring artists like Hank Williams Sr, George

Jones, Merle Haggard, Ernest Tubbs, Bill Monroe, Stonewall Jackson.

And he was musical himself. He was a good dancer. And he played guitar, banjo and harmonica

and sang. He often jammed with his stepdaughter Jul who harmonized and played piano while

his friend Cal Pooler played steel guitar… and little Laurie, his granddaughter, would dance.

But in the words of Hank Snow, “It's all over now so I'm moving on.”

He played poker and actually scored a royal flush once, lamenting that this rare hand happened

in his stepdaughter Chris’ kitchen with only quarters at stake.

Over his lifetime, he enjoyed a variety of careers. Long-haul trucker, gas station owner, school

bus driver (fondly remembered for giving full-size candy bars on Halloween), entrepreneur, real

estate agent, and auctioneer. His stepdaughters enjoyed clerking his auctions and could Colonel

Carol Carrick ever sing “The Auctioneer.“ Hey well all right sir.

Fast with a joke and slow to anger, he sometimes referred to his wife Shirley as “the fiery Finn“

and if she shook her fist at him he’d say “That’s like a pissant trying to stop a freight train.” He

himself was a “stubborn old Scot.” For example, after a stroke resulted in no more car keys, he

pulled a George Jones and took the lawnmower across Highway 71 to have a beer at the Clarissa

Liquor store.

Even in his most golden years, Carol kept those who loved him and cared for him entertained

with his wit and humor. He was known for his colorful expressions like “Everything‘s lovely and

the goose hangs high.” Or, “Makes you feel good all over better than anything else.”

Carol will be truly missed by all who enjoyed his company and loved him including his devoted

wife of 45 years Shirley, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren galore, extended family,

favorite nephew Roger, pastor Kali, and the caring staff at TCCC.

In eternal life, he’ll be joining his ten siblings and all the other family that went before him

including departed wife Joyce, and his rowdy friends. Heaven is surely “better than a poke in the eye

with a sharp stick.”

As Carol would say, “Thanks for coming.”

memorial service

April 28, 2022

Communities of Faith UM 310 Leslie Ave W, Clarissa, MN 56440, USA

Visitation will take place one hour prior to the service. Military honors and committal will take place at Woodlawn Cemetery after the service.

Funeral/Cremation Provider: Iten Funeral Home