Carol Jean (Staples) Churchill passed away on September 15, 2017 from the complications of Alzheimer’s disease. She was born on February 6, 1940 in Maryville, Missouri to Fredrick and Gertrude (Holliway)Staples. She lived the early part of her life in Burlington Junction, Missouri and graduated from high school there in 1958.
Following her marriage to Robert (Bob) Churchill, Carol Jean and Bob spent the first few years of the their marriage in Minneapolis and St. Paul Minnesota. Their first three children, Debbie, Kathy and Mike were born there. Bob’s work took them to Owego, New York in 1964 where their fourth child, Dave was born. Although her primary interest was always maintaining a good family environment and supporting the children in their activities, in this period she was able to expand her interest in various arts and crafts. In Owego, she was mainly active in ceramics, winning several local and regional prizes for her craftsmanship. She also took up tennis, initially to share an interest with Bob, but later developing a skill level to enjoy it directly in women’s singles and doubles.
In 1972, following a move to Huntsville, Alabama (and in 1987 to “next-door” Madison), her family support activities included support of Huntsville High School volleyball, and several years as one of the more active parents of the Huntsville High School Band Parents Association. With four active children she ran, with minimal help from her husband, a twice-an-afternoon “circle-the-city” taxi service, often including other children as well.
She was also able to further expand her crafts participation to needle work related activities. In quilting, in addition to local prizes, she won the blue ribbon at the quilt contest held in conjunction with the 1982 World’s Fair held in Knoxville, Tennessee. She was one of the early (and best) practitioners of the revived craft of marbling fabric, overcoming her inherent shyness to pass her skills along through several classes. In addition to quilting, her needlecraft activities included weaving, counted cross stitch and other fine work. These evolved into an interest in beading, in which she made a number of pieces of admired jewelry. She was an early member of Heritage Quilters of Huntsville and the Huntsville Chapter of the Embroiderers Guild of America. She was a Charter member of the Madison City Quilt Guild.
Carol Jean also developed into a solid mid-level tennis player and was active in the Huntsville Women’s Tennis Association for a number of years. She won several trophies in Women’s and Mixed Doubles events at IBM. She and Bob were also active at several levels in Square Dancing, enjoying themselves in local clubs and at regional and national dances.
She especially enjoyed her grandchildren both in their early years and as they continued to grow. For several years she successfully managed all aspects of a family business involving a number of rental properties.
She is survived by and will be greatly missed by, her husband Robert, her children Deborah Brown (Bob), Kathryn Falgout (Pat), Michael (Christine), and David (Connie), and her six grandchildren. An informal celebration of her life will be held on Wednesday September 20, from 3:00pm to 6:30pm at the Madison Chapel Funeral Home, 8521 Highway 72, Madison, AL. In lieu of flowers, a donation to the Mid South Chapter Alzheimer’s Association, or charity of your choice, is welcomed.
