Carol JoAnne Spencer

Our devoted and loving wife, mother, grandmother, and friend passed away peacefully at her home on August 5, 2024, while surrounded by loving family members.

Carol was born on April 23. 1935, in Port Huron, Michigan, to George L. Carrothers and Harriett Emma Sheffer. She grew up and attended schools in Port Huron, where she graduated from Port Huron High School. It was at a school dance where she met her high school sweetheart, Richard Carl Spencer.

Carol and Richard married on January 7, 1955, while Richard was home on leave from the Navy. They soon began their family as their first child was born in Rhode Island, where Richard was stationed.

After moving back to Port Huron, Richard and Carol were looking for just the right church that they could attend with their growing family. It was not long before two sister missionaries, Pat Erickson and Shirley Clark, knocked on their door. Carol invited them in, and was so excited to tell Richard, when he returned home later, that she had invited them back to visit with both of them. This event was life changing, as Carol and Richard soon joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Carol and Richard were sealed as a family for eternity in the Salt Lake Temple on August 19, 1966, having travelled all the way from Michigan to accomplish this.

As the children grew, Carol and Richard made the difficult decision to move to Utah, where they believed greater opportunities awaited their family among those of their chosen faith. It was in 1973 that they decided to settle in Bountiful, Utah.

As her husband worked hard to provide for their children, Carol worked hard to provide a loving home for them. She was always faithful and strong in her love for the gospel, and enjoyed participating in temple service. She would often look out the window in the morning and say, “there‘s my beautiful temple.” Having been faced with many difficulties throughout her life, she continued to be an example of generosity, sacrifice, and love for her large and growing family. Whether she was inviting others into her home (family and strangers alike), making “Grandma's goulash" for many family gatherings, or sharing her love with kind words and phone calls, she always made an effort to let those around her know they were loved and welcome.

While being with her family was her greatest joy, she also enjoyed watching Western shows, eating Snickers bars and Reese‘s peanut butter cups, and feeding and watching the birds out the window. Her mind and memory began to fade during the last years of her life, but she never lost the immense love she had for her many loved ones and her ”beautiful brown-eyed“ German shepherd, Heidi, and her bird Charlie.

Carol is survived by her six children: Todd R. (Janice), Bountiful; Michael R. {Jenine), serving an LDS mission in Argentina; Laura A. (William) Kilpack, Manti; Robert W. (Jeana), Layton; Julie L. (Stephen A.) Main, Spokane, WA; and Douglas C., Bountiful, as well as 28 grandchildren, and 63 great-grandchildren. Carol was an only child and lost her mother at the age of 13. She went on to create a family of 97 members. They were her greatest joy and her remarkable legacy.

She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Richard, her beautiful mother, Harriett, and many family members and friends.

An evening viewing will be held from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Sunday, August 11, 2024, at Russon Mortuary, 295 N. Main Street, Bountiful, Utah.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday, August 12, 2024, at the Bountiful 31st Ward, 585 E. Center Street, Bountiful, Utah, where a viewing will take place from 9:45-10:45 a.m. prior to services.

Services will be streamed live on the Russon Mortuary Facebook Live page and on this obituary page. The live stream will begin 10-15 minutes prior to services and will be posted below.

Carol whole-heartedly believed "Because I Have Been Given Much, I Too Must Give," and her life was a perfect reflection of this.