Carol Aalborg passed away Friday, April 10, 2009.
Service: 7 p.m. Wednesday at Keene Seventh-day Adventist Church. Burial: College View Cemetery, Lincoln, Neb. Visitation: 5 p.m. to service time Wednesday.
Survivors: Daughter, Pam McVay and husband, John; and two grandchildren.
Published in Star-Telegram on 4/14/2009
Life Sketch
Carol Aalborg (1929-2009)
Carol Aalborg was born on a farm in western Nebraska on February 8, 1929. Her parents, Charles & Della Ellis, perhaps imagining her energetic life, named her Viva Carol Ellis. Stories of her childhood often featured a sod house in which the family lived. She divided her high school years between Shelton (later Platte Valley) Academy and Collegeview Academy. At Union College, she succumbed to the charms of Donald Lee Aalborg, marrying him in 1951, a year before her graduation with a degree in home economics. The young couple began a career of shared ministry in Oklahoma. After serving the Vinita, East Cooper and Shattuck church districts, they moved to Oklahoma City where Don took up duties as youth director for Seventh-day Adventist churches in the state. Daughter Pam was born in 1957 in Okeene.
A shift in geography occurred in 1965 with a move to Georgia to serve as youth director for Adventist churches in Georgia and East Tennessee. With the family living in Atlanta, Carol worked as a dental assistant. The family's life was altered on Thanksgiving Day 1968 when Don and Pam were struck by a car while riding Don's motorcycle. Don was left with a crushed hip, ongoing pain, and decreased mobility. In 1970, Don became educational secretary, overseeing church-sponsored schools. In 1974, the conference office and the Aalborg family moved to Calhoun, Georgia where Carol began work as an insurance claims secretary in a physician's office. The family's time in Georgia extended for another ten years. In these twenty-three years, the Aalborg's established many important, lasting friendships. And they enjoyed occasional international travel. They especially valued a Youth Congress trip to Switzerland and a Reformation Tour, one that took them behind the Iron Curtain.
Don and Carol moved to Texas in 1988 when Don accepted the invitation to serve as president of the Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. They were very excited and were fully invested in this new assignment. Sadly, less than a year later, Don was diagnosed with liver cancer and died on September 8, 1989. Since Carol had always shared closely in Don's ministry, her life changed dramatically. She settled down in Keene, among wonderful friends who had supported her during Don's illness. In 1990, she began serving as a receptionist at the Headquarters of the Southwestern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in Burleson. She treasured this part-time role. It gave her life meaning and it gave her wonderful friends among her fellow workers at the office. Her conversations with her family members were sprinkled with positive stories about her co-workers, her neighbors, and her good, close friends. She clearly felt loved. She thrived in the supportive community provided her in the Keene area.
Through the years, and especially since Don's death, Carol has focused a great deal of attention on Pam and her family. As Pam's and John's duties sometimes took them on lengthy, international trips, Carol had regular opportunities to care for her two grandchildren—Marshall, born in 1987, and Macy, born in 1991. As moves and events occurred, she was there, always ready to help or to celebrate the latest accomplishment. Pam and her family often discovered that Carol's acquaintances knew quite a lot about them. She was clearly proud of them.
This past Friday, after working at the office and buying a few groceries, Carol drove toward home. Nearing her beloved Keene, she died in a tragic car accident. Her life, though full and long, still seems much too short.
We would each characterize Carol differently. Some themes, though, would stream through our varied descriptions. In years of purchasing supplies for youth camps with constrained budgets, she honed her skills as a shopper who knew how to drive a hard bargain. And she was unafraid to exercise those skills. She liked to dress attractively and always attended carefully to her appearance. She personified what it meant to "dress to the nines." She was a people person and would often become consumed by the needs of specific people, holding them up in prayer and working to help. She was passionate about her faith and felt joyfully compelled to share it. She leaves behind a heritage of ministry and faith, her life an invitation to focus on that great and future event, the Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In a life sketch she authored for a Union College alumni weekend, she concludes: "For the present I hope to continue working, enjoying the Keene church and community and, of course, making additional trips to [visit Pam and her family]. My greatest ambition is to rejoin Don and all of you in that ultimate class reunion at Christ's Return."
Service: 7 p.m. Wednesday at Keene Seventh-day Adventist Church. Burial: College View Cemetery, Lincoln, Neb. Visitation: 5 p.m. to service time Wednesday.
Survivors: Daughter, Pam McVay and husband, John; and two grandchildren.
Published in Star-Telegram on 4/14/2009
Life Sketch
Carol Aalborg (1929-2009)
Carol Aalborg was born on a farm in western Nebraska on February 8, 1929. Her parents, Charles & Della Ellis, perhaps imagining her energetic life, named her Viva Carol Ellis. Stories of her childhood often featured a sod house in which the family lived. She divided her high school years between Shelton (later Platte Valley) Academy and Collegeview Academy. At Union College, she succumbed to the charms of Donald Lee Aalborg, marrying him in 1951, a year before her graduation with a degree in home economics. The young couple began a career of shared ministry in Oklahoma. After serving the Vinita, East Cooper and Shattuck church districts, they moved to Oklahoma City where Don took up duties as youth director for Seventh-day Adventist churches in the state. Daughter Pam was born in 1957 in Okeene.
A shift in geography occurred in 1965 with a move to Georgia to serve as youth director for Adventist churches in Georgia and East Tennessee. With the family living in Atlanta, Carol worked as a dental assistant. The family's life was altered on Thanksgiving Day 1968 when Don and Pam were struck by a car while riding Don's motorcycle. Don was left with a crushed hip, ongoing pain, and decreased mobility. In 1970, Don became educational secretary, overseeing church-sponsored schools. In 1974, the conference office and the Aalborg family moved to Calhoun, Georgia where Carol began work as an insurance claims secretary in a physician's office. The family's time in Georgia extended for another ten years. In these twenty-three years, the Aalborg's established many important, lasting friendships. And they enjoyed occasional international travel. They especially valued a Youth Congress trip to Switzerland and a Reformation Tour, one that took them behind the Iron Curtain.
Don and Carol moved to Texas in 1988 when Don accepted the invitation to serve as president of the Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. They were very excited and were fully invested in this new assignment. Sadly, less than a year later, Don was diagnosed with liver cancer and died on September 8, 1989. Since Carol had always shared closely in Don's ministry, her life changed dramatically. She settled down in Keene, among wonderful friends who had supported her during Don's illness. In 1990, she began serving as a receptionist at the Headquarters of the Southwestern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in Burleson. She treasured this part-time role. It gave her life meaning and it gave her wonderful friends among her fellow workers at the office. Her conversations with her family members were sprinkled with positive stories about her co-workers, her neighbors, and her good, close friends. She clearly felt loved. She thrived in the supportive community provided her in the Keene area.
Through the years, and especially since Don's death, Carol has focused a great deal of attention on Pam and her family. As Pam's and John's duties sometimes took them on lengthy, international trips, Carol had regular opportunities to care for her two grandchildren—Marshall, born in 1987, and Macy, born in 1991. As moves and events occurred, she was there, always ready to help or to celebrate the latest accomplishment. Pam and her family often discovered that Carol's acquaintances knew quite a lot about them. She was clearly proud of them.
This past Friday, after working at the office and buying a few groceries, Carol drove toward home. Nearing her beloved Keene, she died in a tragic car accident. Her life, though full and long, still seems much too short.
We would each characterize Carol differently. Some themes, though, would stream through our varied descriptions. In years of purchasing supplies for youth camps with constrained budgets, she honed her skills as a shopper who knew how to drive a hard bargain. And she was unafraid to exercise those skills. She liked to dress attractively and always attended carefully to her appearance. She personified what it meant to "dress to the nines." She was a people person and would often become consumed by the needs of specific people, holding them up in prayer and working to help. She was passionate about her faith and felt joyfully compelled to share it. She leaves behind a heritage of ministry and faith, her life an invitation to focus on that great and future event, the Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In a life sketch she authored for a Union College alumni weekend, she concludes: "For the present I hope to continue working, enjoying the Keene church and community and, of course, making additional trips to [visit Pam and her family]. My greatest ambition is to rejoin Don and all of you in that ultimate class reunion at Christ's Return."
Carol Aalborg passed away Friday, April 10, 2009.
Service: 7 p.m. Wednesday at Keene Seventh-day Adventist Church. Burial: College View Cemetery, Lincoln, Neb. Visitation: 5 p.m. to service time Wednesday.
Survivors: Daughter, Pam McVay and husband, John; and two grandchildren.
Published in Star-Telegram on 4/14/2009
Life Sketch
Carol Aalborg (1929-2009)
Carol Aalborg was born on a farm in western Nebraska on February 8, 1929. Her parents, Charles & Della Ellis, perhaps imagining her energetic life, named her Viva Carol Ellis. Stories of her childhood often featured a sod house in which the family lived. She divided her high school years between Shelton (later Platte Valley) Academy and Collegeview Academy. At Union College, she succumbed to the charms of Donald Lee Aalborg, marrying him in 1951, a year before her graduation with a degree in home economics. The young couple began a career of shared ministry in Oklahoma. After serving the Vinita, East Cooper and Shattuck church districts, they moved to Oklahoma City where Don took up duties as youth director for Seventh-day Adventist churches in the state. Daughter Pam was born in 1957 in Okeene.
A shift in geography occurred in 1965 with a move to Georgia to serve as youth director for Adventist churches in Georgia and East Tennessee. With the family living in Atlanta, Carol worked as a dental assistant. The family's life was altered on Thanksgiving Day 1968 when Don and Pam were struck by a car while riding Don's motorcycle. Don was left with a crushed hip, ongoing pain, and decreased mobility. In 1970, Don became educational secretary, overseeing church-sponsored schools. In 1974, the conference office and the Aalborg family moved to Calhoun, Georgia where Carol began work as an insurance claims secretary in a physician's office. The family's time in Georgia extended for another ten years. In these twenty-three years, the Aalborg's established many important, lasting friendships. And they enjoyed occasional international travel. They especially valued a Youth Congress trip to Switzerland and a Reformation Tour, one that took them behind the Iron Curtain.
Don and Carol moved to Texas in 1988 when Don accepted the invitation to serve as president of the Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. They were very excited and were fully invested in this new assignment. Sadly, less than a year later, Don was diagnosed with liver cancer and died on September 8, 1989. Since Carol had always shared closely in Don's ministry, her life changed dramatically. She settled down in Keene, among wonderful friends who had supported her during Don's illness. In 1990, she began serving as a receptionist at the Headquarters of the Southwestern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in Burleson. She treasured this part-time role. It gave her life meaning and it gave her wonderful friends among her fellow workers at the office. Her conversations with her family members were sprinkled with positive stories about her co-workers, her neighbors, and her good, close friends. She clearly felt loved. She thrived in the supportive community provided her in the Keene area.
Through the years, and especially since Don's death, Carol has focused a great deal of attention on Pam and her family. As Pam's and John's duties sometimes took them on lengthy, international trips, Carol had regular opportunities to care for her two grandchildren—Marshall, born in 1987, and Macy, born in 1991. As moves and events occurred, she was there, always ready to help or to celebrate the latest accomplishment. Pam and her family often discovered that Carol's acquaintances knew quite a lot about them. She was clearly proud of them.
This past Friday, after working at the office and buying a few groceries, Carol drove toward home. Nearing her beloved Keene, she died in a tragic car accident. Her life, though full and long, still seems much too short.
We would each characterize Carol differently. Some themes, though, would stream through our varied descriptions. In years of purchasing supplies for youth camps with constrained budgets, she honed her skills as a shopper who knew how to drive a hard bargain. And she was unafraid to exercise those skills. She liked to dress attractively and always attended carefully to her appearance. She personified what it meant to "dress to the nines." She was a people person and would often become consumed by the needs of specific people, holding them up in prayer and working to help. She was passionate about her faith and felt joyfully compelled to share it. She leaves behind a heritage of ministry and faith, her life an invitation to focus on that great and future event, the Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In a life sketch she authored for a Union College alumni weekend, she concludes: "For the present I hope to continue working, enjoying the Keene church and community and, of course, making additional trips to [visit Pam and her family]. My greatest ambition is to rejoin Don and all of you in that ultimate class reunion at Christ's Return."
Service: 7 p.m. Wednesday at Keene Seventh-day Adventist Church. Burial: College View Cemetery, Lincoln, Neb. Visitation: 5 p.m. to service time Wednesday.
Survivors: Daughter, Pam McVay and husband, John; and two grandchildren.
Published in Star-Telegram on 4/14/2009
Life Sketch
Carol Aalborg (1929-2009)
Carol Aalborg was born on a farm in western Nebraska on February 8, 1929. Her parents, Charles & Della Ellis, perhaps imagining her energetic life, named her Viva Carol Ellis. Stories of her childhood often featured a sod house in which the family lived. She divided her high school years between Shelton (later Platte Valley) Academy and Collegeview Academy. At Union College, she succumbed to the charms of Donald Lee Aalborg, marrying him in 1951, a year before her graduation with a degree in home economics. The young couple began a career of shared ministry in Oklahoma. After serving the Vinita, East Cooper and Shattuck church districts, they moved to Oklahoma City where Don took up duties as youth director for Seventh-day Adventist churches in the state. Daughter Pam was born in 1957 in Okeene.
A shift in geography occurred in 1965 with a move to Georgia to serve as youth director for Adventist churches in Georgia and East Tennessee. With the family living in Atlanta, Carol worked as a dental assistant. The family's life was altered on Thanksgiving Day 1968 when Don and Pam were struck by a car while riding Don's motorcycle. Don was left with a crushed hip, ongoing pain, and decreased mobility. In 1970, Don became educational secretary, overseeing church-sponsored schools. In 1974, the conference office and the Aalborg family moved to Calhoun, Georgia where Carol began work as an insurance claims secretary in a physician's office. The family's time in Georgia extended for another ten years. In these twenty-three years, the Aalborg's established many important, lasting friendships. And they enjoyed occasional international travel. They especially valued a Youth Congress trip to Switzerland and a Reformation Tour, one that took them behind the Iron Curtain.
Don and Carol moved to Texas in 1988 when Don accepted the invitation to serve as president of the Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. They were very excited and were fully invested in this new assignment. Sadly, less than a year later, Don was diagnosed with liver cancer and died on September 8, 1989. Since Carol had always shared closely in Don's ministry, her life changed dramatically. She settled down in Keene, among wonderful friends who had supported her during Don's illness. In 1990, she began serving as a receptionist at the Headquarters of the Southwestern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in Burleson. She treasured this part-time role. It gave her life meaning and it gave her wonderful friends among her fellow workers at the office. Her conversations with her family members were sprinkled with positive stories about her co-workers, her neighbors, and her good, close friends. She clearly felt loved. She thrived in the supportive community provided her in the Keene area.
Through the years, and especially since Don's death, Carol has focused a great deal of attention on Pam and her family. As Pam's and John's duties sometimes took them on lengthy, international trips, Carol had regular opportunities to care for her two grandchildren—Marshall, born in 1987, and Macy, born in 1991. As moves and events occurred, she was there, always ready to help or to celebrate the latest accomplishment. Pam and her family often discovered that Carol's acquaintances knew quite a lot about them. She was clearly proud of them.
This past Friday, after working at the office and buying a few groceries, Carol drove toward home. Nearing her beloved Keene, she died in a tragic car accident. Her life, though full and long, still seems much too short.
We would each characterize Carol differently. Some themes, though, would stream through our varied descriptions. In years of purchasing supplies for youth camps with constrained budgets, she honed her skills as a shopper who knew how to drive a hard bargain. And she was unafraid to exercise those skills. She liked to dress attractively and always attended carefully to her appearance. She personified what it meant to "dress to the nines." She was a people person and would often become consumed by the needs of specific people, holding them up in prayer and working to help. She was passionate about her faith and felt joyfully compelled to share it. She leaves behind a heritage of ministry and faith, her life an invitation to focus on that great and future event, the Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In a life sketch she authored for a Union College alumni weekend, she concludes: "For the present I hope to continue working, enjoying the Keene church and community and, of course, making additional trips to [visit Pam and her family]. My greatest ambition is to rejoin Don and all of you in that ultimate class reunion at Christ's Return."
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