Carol PELO

May 16, 1935 - September 13, 2024

Spokane - Carol Rometch Pelo died at home on September 13 after a rich and wide-ranging life. She was 89 years old.

Carol kept this line from a poem by Walt Whitman tucked in her desk: "All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses, / And to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier." What will carry onward and outward from Carol's life?

In the spirit of her Quaker grandmother, Carol held a lifelong commitment to social justice. Her passion for justice shaped her many years of work as an educator and pastoral minister at Assumption Parish and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Her vision for a progressive, inclusive church led her to co-direct the Masters of Religious Education program at Fort Wright College, with her beloved friend, Sr. Jeanne Concannon. This was a homecoming for Carol; she'd received her Master's in Religious Education from Fort Wright.

Her work in the Catholic Church was Carol's second career. As a young woman, after graduating from Whitman College, she earned an M.A. in English from the University of Montana. She put her love of language to work as a journalist at the Spokane Chronicle and, later, teaching English at Fort Wright College. She was an avid reader; there was always a pile of books next to her chair, and books were her go-to gift for birthdays and Christmas.

Carol was proud of her professional leadership and contributions. And she was also proud of her garden! - a verdant oasis of maple and birch trees, flower beds, and vegetables and fruits. She was a fine cook, curious to experiment with new recipes. She turned boxes of Greenbluff peaches into jars of golden orbs, and flats of berries into jams. She did exquisite needlework, making Christmas stockings for friends' babies and grandbabies and framed art pieces that claimed top dollar at auctions. She loved beautiful things and made a beautiful home for her family.

Carol is survived by her husband of 64 years, Ken; her children, Ann, John, and David Pelo and Stan Strang; her sister, Barbara Larsen; her granddaughters, Hollie Howie and Michaela Brownell, and their children and grandchildren.

Carol's family is deeply grateful to the staff at Riverview Terrace Assisted Living for their kind, cheerful care for Carol in the last months of her life.

To keep Carol's life moving onward and outward, please give a book to a kid, or take a walk in a rose garden, or enjoy a special dessert. A memorial mass will be held in spring. For details go to https://www.hennesseyondivision.com/.

"If the only prayer you say in your entire life is 'Thank you,' it will be enough." -- Meister Eckhart