Born in Marshalltown in 1937 and educated in a one-room school through eight grades before moving to town, Carol Handorf always excelled..... sometimes through the blessing of an exceptional mind, usually through commitment and hard work and, for more than half her life, in spite of almost constant pain.
Carol married Bruce Thatcher after her Junior year at Iowa State, took a quarter off when their daughter was born, and still graduated on schedule in spring of 1959. She raised a family in spite of uprooting moves around the country, emotional traumas and, since 1970, chronic and severe phlebitis.
Carol graduated from Iowa State with a degree in Home Economics Education, and she briefly taught high school. She taught herself to play the organ, and played professionally as a church organist for many years. She cofounded a consulting business with Bruce and others in 1973 and worked-much more than normal hours to help make and keep it successful. During the same period, she entered night school at the University of Kansas to get her MBA in Finance and MIS; she was already a grandmother when she graduated with honors in 1985.
Carol persevered and accomplished whatever she set out to do, she weathered far more than average emotional and physical storms of life without complaint and, through sensitivity and love, she made life better for everyone she touched. She is a hero. 7/1/96 |
