Carol Gass

Those of us who survive her consider Carol Gass to be a one-of-a-kind person - the epitome of a life of passion and compassion.

Carol Patricia Gass, 69, Bismarck, died March 31, 2014, at Sanford Health, Bismarck. A memorial service will be held at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, April 5, at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck. Cremation has taken place. There will be no visitation. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Adult Abused Resource Center or Pride, Inc.

Carol was born Aug. 8, 1944, to William and Beatrice (Scheiderbauer) Gass in St. Paul, Minn. She moved with her parents to Bismarck as a child and attended elementary grades at Cathedral of the Holy Spirit School. She graduated from St. Mary's Central High School in 1962. She received a bachelor's degree in mathematics from North Dakota State University, Fargo, where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. Following her graduation, she attended Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., and Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Carol lived in Chicago for 20 years, where she was an active volunteer with the Chicago Lyric Opera, Chicago Institute of Art and participant in American Kennel Club shows. She was employed by Olivetti, IBM and Consultex, before returning to Bismarck in the late 1980s, when she entered the field of real estate and was a faithful caregiver to her mother until her mother's death.

While in the real estate field, she handled the sale of an apartment building in Bismarck for the Abused Adult Resource Center (AARC) with that structure becoming the first domestic violence shelter in the city. In addition, as chairperson of the AARC board of director's shelter committee, she became the "foreman" of the building's rehabilitation program overseeing with a "firm hand" the work of volunteers and paid contractors.

She was a business consultant and 11 years ago, began working as an employment specialist for Pride, Inc., an organization committed to "people helping people to realize their potential to live and work in the community." She was a fierce defender of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, maintained a constant interest in matters political, and was a lobbyist at the state legislature for the National Women's Political Caucus.

Survivors include two cousins on the East Coast; thousands of victims of domestic violence for whom she was a fervent advocate; her many co-workers and clients from Pride, Inc.; every player who wore the pinstripes of the New York Yankees and her all-time favorite Yankee, Derek Jeter; every baseball fan who, like Carol, believes America's pastime should be played on living, breathing natural turf; and more friends than one could count.

Carol was preceded in death by her parents.

Go to www.parkwayfuneral.com to share memories of Carol and to sign the online guest book.