Carol Patterson

Carol Patterson, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, aunt and sister passed away on the 28th of August 2024 in Denver, Colorado. Carol was born in Dallas, Texas in 1945 to William Hamilton and Patricia McGlothlin Hawk. Carol grew up in Dallas where she graduated from Greenhill School as a founding family member. She was blessed to have her step-father Blake Hawk and gained a wonderful loving extended family through him. As a young girl Carol attended Camp Longhorn in the summers. She had fond memories of spending her youth in the Conejos Valley at the Rainbow Trout Lodge with her Grammy Pearl. She would take her own children and grandchildren on trips to the lodge later in life to share with them the experiences of horseback riding and hiking to waterfalls in the mountains. Her family spent some years living in Honduras on a coffee farm where she learned to speak Spanish and created a lifelong love for gardening. Carol had a wonderful opportunity to study abroad in Paris and Austria and continued her education at Colorado Women’s College in Denver where she studied Fine Art, participated in the CWC Ski Club, cheered for the Colorado School of Mines Football team, and was an Airforce Academy Section Sweetheart. Carol loved the academic environment and continued to learn throughout her life by becoming an Interior Decorator, Christian Counselor, and Montessori Teacher as an adult.

Carol loved everyone graciously and her sweet demeanor was genuine and welcoming. She had a great appreciation for art, home decor, beautiful landscapes and classical music. Carol loved spending time with friends and family on walks, hiking in the mountains, swimming at the beach, water and snow skiing. She also enjoyed attending church, playing the piano, watching a good movie, a good hard laugh, a silly joke, a cathartic cry, and especially cherished holding hands with her loved ones.

Carol married Jack (Jay) Isbell, II and they raised three children together. Carol was a loving and loyal wife to Jay and cherished her time with him and their young family. Jay and Carol began their family in Houston and later moved to Austin where she was a successful and published decorator and served on various parent committees. Later, they moved to the Texas Hill Country to be close to their longtime friends where they became ingrained in the Christian community and enjoyed the small town life. Carol devoted much of her life to serving the Lord by leading various fellowship groups including BSF and Walk to Emmaus. She was a thoughtful listener for anyone who needed it which resulted in her being called to a career in counseling and was the Christian Focus Counselor at an inpatient treatment hospital. After Jay’s passing Carol spent some time as a widow living close to her sister and friends in Houston. During that time, she studied and taught Montessori teachings and art at various schools.

Carol retired from teaching to serve various parishes in the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church alongside her second husband Craig Patterson where they shared the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some people never get to find love at all but Carol had the amazing blessing to find love twice. When Carol met Craig Patterson she knew that God had answered a very specific prayer. They felt God’s presence in the coincidences of parallel lives and the word, “Amazing”, is how she described it. They were able to travel to see friends all over the country and they lived and served in parishes from Texas, Colorado, Washington, and Hawaii. He was everything she had hoped for in a partner and they continued to love and support each other for 17 years.

Some of those that have passed on before Carol include her first husband, Jay, her parents, and her brother. She is survived by her husband Craig and his family; her children, Alisa Ahrens and husband James, Jack Isbell and his wife Autumn, Courtney Nelson and her husband Slade; and precious grandchildren, Hayden and Dylan Ahrens, Pearce and Olivia Isbell Bernhard, Sloan, Everett and Hazel Nelson, her sister Patricia Gano and Steve Gano and their family along with many other family and friends.

Friends are cordially invited to attend a memorial service followed by a reception at Grace Lutheran Church 11135 Newlin Gulch Blvd, Parker, Colorado on September 14th at 10:00 in the morning. There will be a private interment earlier in the week at Broomfield and another gathering will be held in Texas at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association via http://act.alz.org/goto/carolpattersonalzheimerswalk or by mail at: 225 N. Michigan Ave., Floor 17 Chicago, IL 60601 or Grace Lutheran Church, 11135 Newlin Gulch Blvd., Parker, CO 80134