Carol Evelyn Strole

Carol Evelyn (Johanson) Strole, 93, passed into the presence of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on Aug. 8, 2026. She was born at home in Lamesa, Texas on Nov. 8, 1932, to Sigurd C. Johanson, an immigrant from Norway, and Lorene G. (Ashby) Johanson.

As a child, Carol was often asked to read the Bible aloud to her mother as she sewed to supplement a Depression-era income. She readily lent this skill in life, reading to family, friends, school children and her Sunday school classes. Her voice was memorable and her imagination so descriptive she could recount fantastical dreams at breakfast or tell mostly true childhood stories to captivate any age, teaching us, with a wink, to always cross our fingers behind our back to counteract any half-truth to be told.

Carol was the first in her family to wear the mortarboard and turn the tassel with Borger High School Class of 1950. She worked at the local Five and Dime, attending evening business classes – just long enough to land a job at Phillips Petroleum in the offices of its carbon black plant. Soon she accepted a promotion to the plant’s chart room. There she was persuaded to go on a blind date with a single chemical engineer working at a companion plant. On March 14, 1952, she married W.P. “Bill” Strole in a small ceremony and off they went on an unexpectedly charmed life with many more facets of prosperity, adventure, friendships, and laughter than any sorrows could contend.

A move to Idaho Falls, Idaho found the two ready to start a family and in 1957 they excitedly welcomed their beloved son, Jeffery Alan. Mothering was a joy to her. Carol volunteered her time as Den Mother for Cub Scouts, VBS director, Crisis Line counselor and room mother, as well as respite placement for foster care. Through some of those connections in 1964 the Stroles endeavored to adopt a yet-expected baby, and shortly after, Carol Elisabeth joined the family. In time, the family moved to Fulton, New York for a year. As they endured a long, cold winter full of heavy, drifting snow and other difficulties they were ecstatic to make their permanent home in Moses Lake, Washington in 1967, where Bill served as Plant Manager at Basic American Foods for 28 years.

An avid reader, Carol was regularly on her way to the public library. In the kitchen she was excellent; in later years she provided her oft-coveted caramel corn for fundraisers and special gifts. Spring and summer found her in her gardens and flowerbeds feeling the earth and considering it a privilege to help things grow to their fruition and do what they were created to do, so as to bring praises to God as they bloomed. Carol subtly applied that principle across her life into all relationships, encouraging the best from everyone. In winter, she cross-stitched to pass the time and stored up several as heirlooms. Her emphatic style of communication, no matter the topic, drew others into vivid emotions, most likely joy. She spent two very lucrative years as a real estate agent with Dave Jones, but the incessant phone ringing cut into home life and, alas, she hung it up for the last time in celebration of her love of family.

Carol will be laid to rest next to W.P. Strole at Guarding Angels Cemetery on Aug. 20, 2026, upon conclusion of viewing at 1 p.m. and funeral services at 2 p.m. at Kayser’s Chapel, Moses Lake. 

Carol was preceded in death by her husband; her parents; three elder sisters Peggy, Mary and Jeannean; two younger brothers Jon and Joseph; nephew Shannon; and twin great-grandsons Bo and Ira. She is survived by her sister Kay Johanson Herman (Richard); her children Jeff Strole (Cindy) and Elisabeth Strole Murrell (Ben); grandchildren Zachary Strole (Meaghe), Jonelle Copenhaver (Jerred), Amy Strole, Zacchaeus Burris-Strole, Stephanie Murrell Iapryntsev, Isaac Murrell (Julie) and Isabella Murrell; 10 great-grandchildren; nieces and nephews one like a sister, Charlotte, also Tara, Sheryl, Steve, Greg, and one like a son, David Adam.

Please express your thoughts and memories for the family at kayserschapel.com. Arrangements are under the care of Kayser's Chapel of Memories.