LAKEPORT, Calif. – Beloved Lakeport resident Carol Kesey died peacefully at home on Feb. 19, 2015, age 97 years.

Born in 1917 in Ukiah, Calif., to parents Franz D. Grothe Sr. and Jennie (Goodrich) Grothe, Carol was the second of four children.

At the age of four weeks she was brought back to the family homestead at Blue Rock Ranch near Bell Springs in northern Mendocino County. Part of this journey was over steep horse trails in a buckboard wagon.

Her formative years were spent at the family pear ranch on Babcock Lane in Talmage. Carol attended Ukiah public schools, excelling in English and Latin, and graduated from Ukiah High School in 1936.

She attended San Francisco State College, earning her bachelor's degree and her teaching credential. There she met William “Bill” Kesey in the college band.

During World War II, Carol taught third grade in Petaluma while her fiancé Bill served as a navigator on a B-24 over occupied Europe.

In September 1944, Bill and Carol were married at her parents' Witter Springs home. Following Bill’s military service, the couple returned to Lake County and raised three children.

In 1967, Carol returned to the classroom full-time, teaching kindergarten in Lakeport. Her students fondly remember field trips to her beautiful home flower garden, the fun art projects she gave them, and her kind heart.

Carol was active in her retirement years, tending her garden and arranging flowers, playing bridge with close friends, and researching family genealogy. She always preferred to give her creations away to friends and family.

She will be sorely missed and fondly remembered for her clever wit and her constant generosity.

Carol is survived by her sister, Margaret Crane of Belmont, Calif.; brother, Dan Grothe of Lakeport; her children, Tom Kesey (wife Jane) of Potter Valley, Jim Kesey (partner Karen) of Sacramento and Laura Kesey-Farrell (husband Verne) of Forks, Wash.; her grandchildren, Roy Kesey (wife Ana Lucía) of Bethesda, MD, Kelly Kesey of Ukiah, Andrea Farrell of Bellingham, Wash., and Jonathan Farrell of Pullman, Wash.; and by her great-grandchildren Alexandria Clark of Colfax, Calif., and Chloe and Thomas Kesey of Bethesda, MD.

Carol was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Bill, her sister Connie Weaver, and three nephews, Lewis “Jeep” Grothe, Richard Crane and Paul Weaver.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, March 6, at United Christian Parish, 745 N. Brush St., Lakeport, with Pastor Shannon Kimbell-Auth officiating.

Her family expresses its gratitude to the wonderful staff of Hospice of Lake County and Sequoia Senior Solutions for their generous, loving care for Carol.

Memorial contributions to Hospice of Lake County, http://www.lakecountyhospice.org/donate/ , and United Christian Parish, http://www.lakeportucp.org/ , are encouraged.