Carol Henckel

1950 - 2021

Carol Henckel

Born April 22, 1950 - died Sept.22, 2021 (age 71)

Carol passed away from COVID-19 complications on Sept. 22, 2021. Her sons Andrew and Matthew were by her side at St. Vincent Hospital.

Carol was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Virginia and Joseph Cinealis. She was the oldest of three children.

Carol met the love of her life, Mark Henckel, at a science club picnic when they were both in middle school. She graduated from Custer High School in 1968 and went to Columbia Nursing School in Milwaukee. Mark and Carol married on Oct. 23,1971. The newlyweds moved to Billings, Montana in 1972 when Mark accepted a reporting job at the Billings Gazette. Carol worked at St. Vincent Hospital, performed in-home care, and was a Park City EMT. In 1977, they adopted their first son, Andrew Joseph, from Catholic Social Services in Helena. Five years later, they adopted their second son, Matthew Arthur, also from Catholic Social Services.

Carol raised her sons and was a homemaker. A devout Catholic, she taught Religious Education at Saint Anthony's in Laurel, Montana. She worked at the Park City School as a teacher's aide and as substitute teacher, and later at the Kwik Stop in Park City. She was also active on the Park City PTA, remarking in her later years that the schools needed a grandparent's, not only parents' perspective.

In 2008, Carol, Mark, and Peggy Lawver started the Walleye Tournament, an annual event at Canyon Ferry that raised money for Camp Mak-a-Dream. Although she seldom fished herself, she and her husband taught many of Park City and Laurel's children how to cast a rod for the first time. The two were devoted to each other as partners in their family life, their interests, and their Catholicism. After Mark died in 2010, Carol continued to plan and put on the Walleye Tournament and continued her late husband's legacy of outdoor reporting by researching and writing the (Montana Outdoor Radio Show) fishing report every week.

Through this community service and in everything else she did, from antiquing to giving grandmotherly advice, Carol's love and concern for others, her moral compass and empathy shone through. She was a lively and kind part of many social and religious circles, enriching and helping others. We will miss her immeasurably.

Carol is survived by her sons Andrew Henckel and Matthew Henckel, daughter--in-law Daisy Henckel, brother Tom Cinealis, sister-in-law Mary Lynn Cinealis, sister Linda Wendtland, and her grandchildren Alex, Riley, Linden, Edith, Emily, and Hazel, and many nieces and nephews.

Memorial service will be held on Oct. 8, 2021, 12:00 pm Saint Patrick's Church 215 North 31st Street, Billings Burial to follow service Park City Cemetery. 274 Cemetery, Rd, Park City

Funeral Reception, 4 pm Park City Civic Center 21 2nd Ave SW, Park City, MT 59063, Park City