Carol Corinne Tuttle
March 1st, 1942 - March 1st, 2024
Carol was born on March 1st, 1942, in Portland, OR. She was the eldest of the 4 children of Corinne and Gordon Tuttle and the eldest of 13 cousins.
Sadly, in January 2024, Carol was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome, a rare and aggressive blood cancer.
As a young adult, Carol travelled a great deal. She explored New York City on her own. Carol was a Latin American studies Major in college and took an extensive cruise around South America, by herself, especially enjoying Chile.
Taught by her mother, she began sewing at a young age. She expanded her skills by participating in 4H and entering competitions for many different homemaking skills. As an adult, Carol was a prolific seamstress, creating dozens and dozens of quilts (including a quilt business), many garments and numerous home decor accessories.
Carol lived in the Bay area for a number of years, including in Oakland, CA, where she taught kindergarten. She also adopted a seven-year-old little boy, Patrick.
Carol moved with friends and with Patrick to Nova Scotia for four years of “Back to the Land”. They had chickens, a big vegetable garden (with a short growing season), grew hay, made butter and raised bees. Carol ran and cooked in the kitchen of the local ski run.
She and Patrick moved back to Oregon in the mid ‘70s.
Then to Denver in the mid ‘80s where she met Lynn. The two of them renovated several homes with an emphasis on restoring the historic character of those homes.
The Victorian restoration was featured on HGTV “Generation Renovation” and in the magazine “Architecture and Design of the West”.
Carol and Lynn thoroughly explored the scenic beauty of Colorado and the Rocky Mountains. They camped, in everything from a tent to a Class A Motorhome, hiked and ventured to all corners of Colorado. They enjoyed a large variety of pets, especially dogs and cats, which were a very fulfilling part of their lives from then on.
They loved international travel, visiting Western Europe and even seeing Russia in the ‘80s on a trip that Lynn won in a TV contest.
As Carol’s career progressed, she frequently worked with disadvantaged and low-income folks, always helping them move forward with their lives. Together with Lynn, they were a natural team of Real Estate Broker and Mortgage Lender.
Around that time, Carol and Lynn began acquiring rental properties and it suited them well.
Carol’s career progression included teaching at an alternative high school, Head Start, United Way Development Director, Public Television, Development Director at the Kemp Center in Denver. She spent a large portion of her latter career, procuring home loans for low-income people and helped numerous, grateful clients begin their path to the American Dream. She was even featured on the show 20/20 with Stone Phillips, discussing a foreclosure prevention program.
Carol retired after many years as a Senior Loan officer in the mortgage business.
Carol and Lynn began looking at the Pacific Northwest as a possible retirement location, especially as Carol’s mother Corinne reached her 90’s. After a long and difficult search, they settled on the perfect 7-acre property in southeast Olympia. Here they could continue with their camping explorations, this time, of the Pacific Northwest. Carol was able to indulge in her passion for gardening, becoming an active member of the Olympia Garden Club. The large shop on their property afforded space for Carol’s other favorite hobby- quilting and her long arm quilt machine. She made ample use of the shop sewing space, creating Roman shades, duvet covers, pillow covers, bathrobes and many other items.
Carol is survived by Lynn, her spouse of 38 years, brother Donald, sister Anne, nephew DJ and many dear cousins and friends. She was predeceased by son Patrick, brother Larry and parents Corinne and Gordon Tuttle.
