Carol Darling, 54

Carol Darling, 54, formerly of the Flathead Valley, passed calmly in her sleep, surrounded by loved ones June 17, 2005, at her home in British Columbia.

She was born Oct. 6, 1950, in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Carol spent most of her childhood in the Flathead Valley, and many of her siblings and relatives still reside here today.

Carol spent her life serving people, be it family, friends or the public. She worked for public health in Houston, British Columbia, for a number of years, always greeting people with a smiling face and a genuine concern for their well-being. She retired for health reasons. Like life, her time spent at work was given unconditionally. She had the ability to make the people she loved, worked beside, and her friends better people for having been with her. She never asked for more than she was willing to give. She was always energetic and willing to give of herself, expecting nothing in return.

All who have known Carol realize that she is not gone. For having known her it was impossible not to carry a piece of her with you. She still lives in the love, lessons and teachings she so freely gave to us.

All who knew her loved her and will sorely miss her but know she has gone to a better place, and knowing her lessons and teachings will be with us forever, a reminder of her ever loving and smiling face.

She is survived by her loving husband, Rich, of 108 Mile, British Columbia; her daughter, Jody and son-in-law Scott, and their two children, Alysha and Sean of Wichita, Kan.; her son, Richard and daughter-in-law Andrea, and their children, Dayton, Dustin and Colton of Houston; sisters, Mary of Kalispell, Kathy of Anchorage, Julie of Kalispell, Ruthy of Seattle, and Shannon; and by brothers, Bob and Buckley, and their families, all of Kalispell.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Daisy, and her father, Leroy.