Carol Campbell

Carol was born in Lenox, Iowa and graduated high school from there in 1955. She worked in many administrative roles in Denver, CO, the Iowa Girls Athletic Association (she was very passionate about 6 on 6 girls’ basketball), Iowa Methodist Medical Center, the Des Moines Register (14 years), Iowa Methodist School of Nursing (13 years) and the Iowa Clinic. Her organizational skills and attention to detail were second to none. She had many passions in life with music, family and faith at the top of the list. Carol had a beautiful voice and sang in many plays and musicals, often with her sister Sharon. At age 21, she was in the musical Oklahoma going on to be in Damn Yankees, Three Penny Opera, Gypsy, The Pajama Game and Music Man just to name a few. She also sang at many weddings and funerals. Family was very important to Carol and while she never married, she helped raise nephews David and Danny living with Sharon and the boys since they were 10 years old. As one of four living under the same roof, she insisted on paying for half of the expenses. Their house on North C Street in Indianola and later on East Ashland was a gathering place for the boys’ friends with many of them calling her “Aunt Coco”. Carol and her sister Sharon continued to be roommates and best friends long after the boys moved out. Carol was a proud member of the West Des Moines Christian Church and while she wasn’t able to attend services in person in recent years, she did watch the livestream almost every Sunday during the COVID19 pandemic. She was proud of the fact she had read the entire Bible several times during her lifetime. While her body and injuries read like a medical journal over the years, her mind was always sharp. She loved to read, often up to 3 full length books every week. The staff at Martina Place had a hard time finding books that she hadn’t already read, but as Carol would say “the best part about my age is that I can read a book I might have read 5 years ago and its brand new to me”. Carol also loved sports, especially college basketball and football. Later in life, she could be found watching a PGA tournament on Sundays because she liked looking at the golfers. Carol will be missed by her sister Sharon Campbell Zahn, brother Bill Campbell (Jeanette), niece Kelly Nelson (Neil) nephews David Zahn (Dana), Daniel Zahn (Delana), Mark Campbell (Michelle), Kurt Campbell (Petra), Brian Campbell (Natalie), along with many great nieces and nephews that she loved seeing and hearing stories about. (Allison, Reagan, Max, Carter, Aspen, Grady, Casen, JJ, Holden, Shepherd, Nora, Adelynn, Jacob, Hannah. She was proceeded in death by her parents Willard and Corene Campbell as well as a brother, Haldene Campbell. Memorial contributions may be made at wdmcc.org in memory of Carol Campbell. Online condolences will be welcomed at CaldwellParrish.com. Visitation will be on Thursday October 7 at 9:30am followed by a short service at 10:30am at Caldwell Parrish Funeral Home - 8201 Hickman Rd, Urbandale, IA 50322. A special thank you to the staff of Martina Place and Bishop Drumm for taking care of her these past 3 years.