Carol Ann (Strank) Bauer, 69, of Huntsville, passed away peacefully on November 5, 2022, at Huntsville Hospital with family at her side. Carol was born in Johnstown, PA on July 16, 1953.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Peter and Ann Strank, and her husband, Col. Bruce Lake Bauer, USAF.
She is survived by her daughter, Laura (James) Doheny of Lancaster, PA, and son, Daniel (Lieping) Bauer of Springfield, Virginia; sisters, Kathy (David) Kasper of Stone Lake, WI and Karen (James) Costlow of Pittsburgh, PA; five grandchildren, Rachel Bauer and Lillian, Kathleen, Emily and Joseph Doheny; and brother-in-law, Robert (Mary Ann) Bauer of Los Angeles, CA.
Her family was everything to her and combine that with her fascination with numbers, especially dates, she could recite every family member’s birthday and anniversary including nieces and nephews: Douglas (Katie) Kasper, Susan (Chris) Murray, Matthew Kasper, Monica Costlow, Stephen (Laura) Costlow, Thomas (Jean) Bauer, Michael Bauer, and Lisa (Ryan) White, and great-nieces and great-nephews, too. Carol was especially close with cousins John (Jen) Markovich and Patty (Gene) Pavlikowski.
Carol grew up in Franklin Borough, PA, was a 1971 graduate of Conemaugh Valley High School and attended Mount Aloysius Junior College. She moved to Tucson, AZ for a brief period where she worked and took classes at Pima Community College. It was on a visit to Omaha, NE where she met the love of her life, then, Capt. Bruce L Bauer. They were married on October 15, 1977, at the Chapel on Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, complete with the military wedding tradition of the newlyweds walking under an archway of swords.
As a military family they lived in many places, Bellevue, NE, Montgomery, AL, San Bernardino, CA, and Satellite Beach, FL. When Bruce retired from the Air Force in 1992, he continued his career in defense at his new position in Huntsville.
After he retired from his civilian career, Carol and Bruce traveled to many countries by cruise ship, sometimes with three cruises a year. The Amazon River, China, Thailand, the Holy Land, England, and the Mediterranean were some of her favorites. Carol was quite the conversationalist whether in person or by phone and loved to share stories about family, friends, and people she met on her travels.
She was a devout Catholic and an active parishioner at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Huntsville. Over the past decade, she has supported the education of three Haitian girls through the Holy Spirit Haiti Mission. Carol had hoped to someday travel to Haiti to meet the girls she sponsored, Ania, Diana, and Venus.
She loved animals, especially her rescue cats. She had an extensive number of collectables including figurines, plush animals, and framed art, some of which she collected with her daughter Laura.
She was a kind and caring wife, mom, grandma, sister, aunt, and friend. She lived a beautiful full life.
Her funeral and burial will be at Arlington National Cemetery at a future date determined by Arlington.
As a memorial to Carol, if you would like, you may donate online to the Holy Spirit Haiti Mission at
https://holyspirithaitimission.org/.
