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Carole Jane Watkins, 87 years old, of Dyer, IN went to heaven on April 6, 2022. Carole was born on March 9, 1935 in Hammond, IN. She grew up in Lansing, IL and graduated from Thornton Fractional High School in 1952. She met her beloved husband, Donald Watkins, at Standard Oil in Whiting, IN in 1957. They married on October 21, 1961, and celebrated 60 years together last October. As Don likes to say, “I chased her for three years until she caught me”. Carole was an intrinsically beautiful person and was incredibly talented at so many things. She didn’t just cook….everything was homemade. She didn’t just sew….she could make her own patterns. Oh how special her ‘grown from seed’ garden was. There were always tomatoes, zucchini, snap peas, etc. to be picked. And, she made sure there were pumpkins galore for her girls to pick in the Fall! Not surprising that her email was 'GardenCarole'. There was almost nothing she couldn’t do. She loved everything related to nature including planting acorns with her granddaughters that have now grown over 50 feet tall; and hiking every summer in the Colorado mountains. Carole is survived by her loving husband, Donald Watkins; daughters Deborah Watkins (and fiancé Bruce Feldman) and Dawn Osterhus (and her husband John Osterhus); granddaughters Jill Osterhus and Amanda Osterhus; and many nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents, Thomas and Nellie Malcolm. We lost our beautiful and caring wife, mother, and grandmother on April 6. But sadly, we’ve been losing pieces of her for 12 years due to the degenerative effects of Alzheimers’ disease. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Alz.org. She will be so missed and forever in our hearts. As Dad said the other day to Mom, “See you upstairs”. Family services will be private.

Tributes

Carole Watkins

March 9, 1935 - April 6, 2022