Carol H. Kolar spent her life being a fantastic human, wife, mama, grandma, daughter, scientific researcher, cherished cousin, aunt, and friend to so very many. On June 22, 2023, our lives changed forever when she passed from this world. We will forever cherish so many great memories together.
After growing up in the small town of Ansted, West Virginia, she was proud to have graduated college from WVU. She went on to work in the medical field as a medical tech for decades and found her passion in working to find cures for breast and pancreatic cancer. Her work and life took her all over the country, however she spent most of her adult years in Wisconsin and Nebraska until she retired in Oregon to be closer to her family.
As a cancer researcher and scientist, she was a published author with many medical publications and textbook chapters, and on some were as the first author. In science, first authorship is an acknowledgment of the main contributor to the work. She was so proud of this, as were we all. Her boss and friend described Mom as someone who “loved NASA and fully and wholeheartedly participated in the successful protein crystallization experiments the Borgstahl lab flew to the International Space Station on SpaceX flights. She was a true and brilliant scientist, through and through.” She also thoroughly enjoyed sharing her love of science with her “students.” She found great joy in helping the young generation learn and grow as they worked to achieve higher degrees. Some became like her own children with friendships continuing long after their studies were done.
Mom had a lot of interests… but one of her favorite things (aside from NASA and astronomy) was reading. She was such an avid reader…always studying something, often the most obscure something you could imagine. She wanted to understand how everything works. For "fun,” she took a quantum physics class after she retired. Her brain never ceased to amaze us.
But she also had a playful side. She loved playing games with friends and enjoyed looking for the unusual sights on her walks each morning; she especially loved watching the deer, bear, and other critters in her backyard. She had such great friends from her working years and on into retirement with whom she played cards and cribbage and enjoyed dinners and stimulating conversation. She loved her concerts in the park, people watching, opera, and her book and card club friends.
For so many, she was a great voice of reason and a confidant, but she was also just a listening ear and loving friend.
And for me…she was the best mom and best friend ever. You’ll be missed beyond belief, Mama.
So now, as she transitions from this life, we’re excited for her to be able to go on the flight of her life. Soar high, Mama! She always wanted to go into space. We’ll be watching her travels and cheering her on from all over the country. She is loved and missed and never forgotten…. always in our hearts.
