Carol Clifton Stromberg

Carol Hawkins Clifton Stromberg
May 16, 1937 – March 20, 2015

Carol was born on May 16, 1937 to Jim and Marian Crawford Hawkins in Collbran, Colorado.  She passed away on March 20, 2015 in McKay-Dee Hospital, Ogden, Utah, after a lengthy struggle with pulmonary fibrosis.
Carol attended Collbran schools.  Her first eight school years were spent at Little Creek, a country school next to the farm where the family lived.  She graduated from Plateau Valley High School in 1955 and attended Mesa College in Grand Junction, Colorado.
Carol was married to Forest Clifton of Collbran.  They were later divorced.  The couple had six children – five boys: Randy, Robin, Roger, Ralph and Rick.  On Christmas Day 1968 her youngest, a daughter named Raquel Jean was born.
Carol and her family lived in Ogden and Huntsville, Utah. It was here that her sweet daughter Raquel passed away at age eleven, after a four-year battle with cancer.
To fulfill a lifelong dream, Carol returned to college. Working full-time as well as carrying a full load of studies, she completed her nursing degree at Weber State College in Ogden, Utah.  She held various nursing jobs over the years but her favorite was caring for newborn babies and their mothers at McKay-Dee Hospital.
Carol married Ray Stromberg in Ogden, Utah.  They were later divorced.
Carol returned to Collbran when her father passed away and spent several years caring for her mother.  During that time she also trained to be a facilitator to those with dyslexia.  Carol had a special place in her heart for young people who struggled in life, and she felt that through her work with dyslexia she was doing her part in helping them.
After her mother Marian passed away, Carol resumed her nursing career and held several positions, including as a traveling nurse.  Upon retirement she returned to Ogden and to an apartment that her eldest son Randy and his wife Stephanie had added to their home for her. Here she enjoyed her last years completing long-delayed cross-stitch projects, playing Solitaire, listening to her audio books, and spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Carol was a kind and generous person.  She spent her entire adult life as a caregiver both in her nursing career and as a daughter and mother.  She was unfailing in her devotion to her children.
Carol is survived by her five boys: Randy (Stephanie), Robin, Roger, Ralph (Leslie), and Rick, along with eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.  She is also survived by her sister Barbara (Richard) Stites of Collbran, and brother Dan (Linda) Hawkins of Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her younger brother Jimmy, and her daughter.
According to her wishes there will be a family graveside service in Collbran at a later date.  Local arrangements are in the care of Aaron’s Mortuary of Odgen.  Those who wish may give a gift in her memory to the Plateau Valley Friends of the Library, P.O. Box 88, Collbran, Colorado, 81624.