From Argus Leader

Funeral services for Carol Jean (Larson) Wills will begin at 10:30 am Saturday, April 19, 2014 at Miller Funeral Home, Main Avenue location. Interment will be in Woodlawn Cemetery. Visitation with the family present will be from 5:00 to 7:00 pm Friday, April 18th at the funeral home.

From MFH

Carol Jean (Larson) Wills, 67, of Sioux Falls died Friday, April 11, 2014 at her residence. Funeral Services will be held 10:30am Saturday, April 19, 2014 at Miller Funeral Home, 507 S. Main Ave. with interment at Woodlawn Cemetery. Visitation will begin at 12:00 PM with the family present from 5:00-7:00 pm at Miller Funeral Home.

Carol was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on October 29th 1946 to Yerke Zane "Y.Z." and Pearl (Ogden) Larson.

In 1964, Carol graduated from Washington High School. Shortly after, she went on to attend Colorado's Women's College, as well as The University of Illinois.

As a straight A honor student she spent 25 years "studying her brains out." In 1972, her hard work and determination paid off when she received her Masters in Education and a PhD in Psychology. Her passion for education and teaching cannot be put into words. It is a passion shared by her posterity.

She taught both high school biology and a physical education. In 1977, she worked at the Center for Youth Development and Achievement in Tucson, where she taught GED classes.

Carol was also a competitive gymnast in her day. She was so good she became Arizona state champion. The balance beam was her favorite. At one point, she walked around the block while doing a handstand. A truly gifted gymnast, she was able to ride a motorcycle in the desert sand, doing a handstand on the handlebars.

Carol was highly intelligent, an animal lover, and loved the Lord. Her bible was her constant companion and she often quoted scriptures to those around her. She traveled the world and loved to S.C.U.B.A. dive, receiving her diving certification as a teenager. The daisy was her favorite flower. Her favorite animals are Bengal tigers, cats, and rabbits...Rabbits representing Easter, one of her favorite holidays.

But most of all she loved rainbows. She read in Revelations 10:1 of an angel "clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow was upon his head...and he put his right foot upon the sea, and the left foot on the earth..." Each one of her five children has been designated a color. Jessica is red, Jennifer is blue, Cynthia is green, Rachael is orange and her baby boy, Yerke John, is yellow.

So whenever you see a rainbow, know that Carol is looking down on you.

Grateful for having shared her life are her children, John Tolkheim, Madison, SD, Jennifer Bair and her husband, Bryant, Henderson, NV, Jessica Wills and her friend Kenneth Leidelmejer, Panama City, FL, Cynthia Mathis and her husband, Chuck, Sioux Falls, SD, Rachael Boldt and her husband, Nick, Sioux Falls, SD; six grandchildren; a brother, Gary Larson and his wife, Linda, Pierre, SD; a sister, Sandra Runde and her husband, Marshall Schleve, Rapid City, SD; a sister-in-law, Kathy Larson, Sioux Falls, SD and a host of other relatives and friends.

Preceded in death by her parents, Yerke Zane "Y.Z." and Pearl (Ogden) Larson.; and one brother, Robert "Al" Larson.

Source - Argus Leader - Apr 13, 2014 and http://www.millerfh.com/