A funeral mass for Carol will take place on Friday, February 21, 2020, beginning at 10:30 a.m. at the Saint Francis of Assisi Parish: Saint Mary Catholic Church with Father Alan Diezenbach officiating. A visitation for family and friends will be held from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Mitchell Family Funeral Home on Thursday, February 20, 2020, with a vigil beginning at 7:00 p.m. Memorials in Carol’s name may be directed to her family for a later designation. For additional information or to send a condolence to the family please visit www.mitchellfh.com or call 641-844-1234. Care for Carol and her family has been entrusted to Mitchell Family Funeral Home.

Carol Florence Michels was born September 4, 1934 to parents Joseph “Joe” and Lois (Wikle) Michels on the family farm just north of Green Mountain, Iowa. She was the oldest of five children born to the family. She attended school in the town where she grew up. She graduated from Green Mountain High School as part of the class of 1952. She attended Mount Mercy for nursing after completing her high school education.

On November 28, 1954, she was united in marriage to her husband Merle Parks at the rectory at Saint Mary Catholic Church. The two then moved to Irwin, Pennsylvania where her husband Merle was stationed. They began a family of their own having three of their 10 children together while living in Pennsylvania. In 1958, the two called Garwin, Iowa, their permanent home. Family was an important part of her life. Her family had received the Family of the Year Award from the University of Northern Iowa in 1996 which she was very proud of. Outside of the home she worked for a period of time as a teller for Farmer’s Savings Bank in Garwin, Iowa, a Beeline fashion consultant and a partial owner with friends of The Shadow Box craft consignment store.

Carol was active in her community as well as in her children’s lives. Throughout her time in Garwin, she served as a member of many committees some of which include being a cub scout leader, Garwin Revitalization Committee, St. Boniface Rosary Society, she volunteered time helping out elderly neighbors and Tama County Commodities. She would often sew, craft, watch baseball, especially the Chicago Cubs and the Minnesota Twins and work on puzzles, whether jigsaw or crosswords in her free time.

Left to remember and cherish her memory are her children: Les (Maggie) Parks, Terri (Gregg) Goos, Anne (Keith) Barloon, Joe (Sherry) Parks, Mary (Mike) Boege, Dennis (Mary) Parks, Glen (Tina) Parks, Susie (Grant) Strohbehn, Karen (Ron) Roseland and Paul (Carie) Parks; her 27 grandchildren; 14 great grandchildren with two more on the way; siblings Delores Dunham and Mildred Stubbs; sisters-in-law Judy Michels, Ann Parks, Linda Parks; and her brother-in-law Donald Lynk.

She was preceded in death by her husband Merle; her parents Joe and Lois Michels; her father and mother in-law Henry and Annice Parks; siblings Barbara Lynk and Robert Michels; and her brothers-in-law Daniel Dunham, John Stubbs, Samuel Parks and Raymond Parks.