Carole Eleanor Van Norstrand

Carole Eleanor Van Norstrand, 84, of Taylors, wife of the late Thomas Van Norstrand, passed away on September 2, 2022.

Carole was born on September 6, 1937 in Dell Rapids, South Dakota to the late Martin and Florence Fiegen. She grew up on a farm and was the eldest of 13 children.

After graduating St. Mary’s High School, she attended secretarial school and got a job as the secretary to a two-star General at Offutt Air Force Base (SAC Headquarters), where she met her future husband Tom, an Air Force Captain. Once they started a family, Carole was such a devoted wife and mother to their four children. She was a softball coach, den mother, cheerleading coach, and played guitar in the choir at Our Lady of Nazareth Church in Roanoke, VA.

Carole loved playing tennis, bowling, golf, gardening, fishing, sewing, traveling, and working crossword puzzles. Carole and Tom loved the lake life, which began on Smith Mountain Lake in VA, with their houseboat “Dutch Treat”. Once in SC, they built “Van’s Camp II” on Lake Hartwell, which became their weekend retreat for the next 35 years.

Throughout her life, Carole always had a love for dachshunds. Over a period of 50 years, she and the family had eight dachshunds, and for the last ten years, Carole and Tom focused on adopting through a rescue organization for dachshunds.

Carole was the most active and toughest woman to anyone who knew and loved her. She had a spunk about her that never dissipated, even in her later years. She adored her five grandchildren, and was always so proud of them and loved bragging to others about them.

She is survived by her sons, Jeffrey and Steven Van Norstrand, both of Taylors, SC; daughters, Susan Altis and husband Mike of Cumming, GA, and Jill Wall and husband Shane of Greenville, SC; and grandchildren, Matthew, Logan, Jamie, Caelen, and Emma. She is also survived by sisters, Linda, Margaret (Peggy), Sandra; and numerous nieces and nephews.

In addition to her beloved husband and parents, she was preceded in death by siblings, Ellen, Fern, Mary Ann, Larry, Lloyd, Dean, Kenneth, and Jerome (Jerry).

The family will be having a private ceremony for Carole at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. They are also planning a celebration of Carole’s life to be announced at a later date.

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