Carole Wells Dunn

We regret to announce the passing of Carole Wells Dunn, age 92. She is preceded in death by her husband Dr. John S. Dunn, MD. She leaves behind her two children, Laura and Tony, as well as Nancy, the daughter of her best friend who died relatively young (a surrogate mother of sorts). She also leaves behind the nieces and nephews of her pre-deceased siblings, Eleanor and Carleton.

For those who knew her, she tended to engender a deep respect and admiration. For someone so often regarded as a pillar of strength and for possessing an unassailable character, it is indeed difficult to accept her passing.

A longtime Santa Rosan, Carole Lillian Wells was born on November 12, 1930, to Carleton and Lillian Wells of Santa Rosa, the youngest of three children. Graduating from Santa Rosa High School in 1948, she attended Santa Rosa Jr. College, before completing her B.A. in Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

At this point it could be argued that Carole's life adventures truly began. She spent some time living on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Armed with her teaching credential, she would also spend several years teaching the children of servicemen (i.e., army brats) on a US Army base in what was then West Germany.

Whether it was her early morning surf lessons at Waikiki- or - managing her young students in West Germany during the tense period of the former Soviet Union's invasion of Hungary in 1956, she was never in want of interesting stories to share of such times decades later.

Moreover, whether it was enjoying a chance breakfast with famous actor Henry Fonda while he was in Hawaii during the filming of Mister Roberts (1955) or encountering the great surrealist and notorious womanizer Salvador Dali in an elevator in Madrid, it seemed Carole also had the knack for randomly meeting famous people. She may not have realized the profound impressions such experiences living and travelling overseas left on her children.

Returning to Santa Rosa in order to care for her ailing mother, Carole would continue teaching at Proctor Terrace Elementary. Her life soon changed dramatically upon meeting the love of her life, Jack Dunn of Tulsa, OK, in his own time a much-venerated surgeon at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

Having met Carole for the first time, Jack's mother would later express in a letter to his sister, Daisy Lou: "It is too bad that all people (couples), who love each other, don't radiate as they do." They would marry in 1961 and have two children, Laura and Tony.

Sadly, life took an unexpected turn upon her husband's untimely death a decade later. This tragic event in Carole's life prompted her to return to school, where she earned her real estate license.

She would go on to establish a successful, nearly forty-year career in real estate, selling properties throughout Sonoma County. The capstone on Carole's professional career came with her broker's license, enabling her to co-own a real estate brokerage in Santa Rosa, Vintage Square Properties.

Throughout both her pre- and post-retirement years Carole remained active in the community. She was a member of the local chapter of the P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization) and occasionally did volunteer work, such as for the Santa Rosa Symphony.

Although she did at times play golf (she shot a hole-in-one on the 5th hole at Fountain Grove in 1989), Carole was an avid tennis player well into her later years. She loved watching professional football, the 49ers being favorite her team. She enjoyed watching westerns, especially John Wayne movies.

Toward the end of her life, she enjoyed her bridge club sessions at the Wild Oak Saddle Club and Santa Rosa Golf & Country Club. A prolific reader, she was for a time a member of a book club.

Upon her wishes, Carole's gravesite service in April will be private, attended by her children and close family members, her remains interred next to those of her husband, Jack, at Santa Rosa Memorial Park cemetery. A celebration of life in her honor will be held in late May. Carole Wells November 12, 1930 - Dunn January 21, 2023