Carolyn Sue Heimlich

Carolyn S. Heimlich, 84, was called home to be with her Lord and Savior on September 7th, 2025. She was born on January 7, 1941 in Columbus, Ohio to Charles Henry and Ora May Henthorn, both of whom preceded her in death. She married her late husband, James A. Flickinger, on November 26, 1961, who also preceded her in death on November 13, 1993.
Carolyn was many things to many people. She was a daughter, an aunt, a sister, a wife, a mother, a mother-in-law, a grandmother, and a great-grandmother. She was one of the ladies who prepared meals and facilitated arts and crafts at Northwestern Ohio Christian Youth Camp, where her late husband Jim was a director during the summer. She was the lady who played the piano and sang show tunes at several of the local nursing homes for the residents there, with the patients on the memory care units being among her favorites. She was a member of the Marion Lecture Recital Club for many, many years and a proud, costume-wearing member of the Marion Madrigals. She was the lady in the wheelchair who handed you your program at various events and shows at the Palace Theatre, where she and her husband, John, liked to volunteer. She was the lady who sat at the front desk of Marion General Hospital and helped direct you to the room and floor where your loved one was.
She was also the mom who instilled a genuine love of music in her children by enrolling them in piano lessons, voice lessons, and making sure they played in the school band. She was the wife and mother who hand-sewed costumes for her family for the Bi-Centennial Celebration in 1976 and matching mother/daughter dresses for herself and her daughter. She was the fashionista in the 70's with bell bottoms, straightened hair and three different Volkswagon Beetles in her lifetime, complete with ladybug decals. She was her late husband's secretary and right hand when it came to running the bookkeeping and tax business, only taking a hiatus from her work when she became ill with cancer. Carolyn was a fighter, having fought and beat polio at a very young age and cancer twice in her lifetime. She used to say that she never expected to live past the age of fifty, that all she asked God for was to make sure her children were raised and able to care for themselves, and that she credited her Lord and Savior with "having a reason for why I'm still here" for living years past what doctors said she would. She was a force to be reckoned with.
She is survived by her husband John Heimlich, her son James (Shelley) Flickinger, her daughter Martha Foster, her grandchildren Dustin (Lacey) Foster, David Flickinger and Anna Flickinger, her great-granddaughter Alexis Foster, her nieces Mindy Hupp, Robin Kite, Renee (Greg) Taylor, Kimberly (Mike) Minor, Crystal (Scott) Rose, her nephew Kyle (Tamami) Lugger, and several great-neices and nephews. She is also survived by her brothers-in-law John Lugger, Michael Flickinger and William Flickinger and sisters-in-law Sandy (Barry) Hupp, Lois Heimlich and Louise Heimlich. She was preceded in death by her sister, Charlene Lugger and her first husband, James Flickinger, as well as her first in-laws, Olen and Eloise Flickinger, and her father-in-law, Ralph Heimlich.
Visitation for Carolyn will be held Friday, September 12, 2025 11 am to 12 noon at Richland Road Church of Christ, 535 Richland Rd., Marion, Ohio 43302. A Memorial Service will begin at 12 noon at the church with Pastor Russell Howard officiating.
In lieu of flowers, the family would like to request that donations be made to the American Cancer Society or an animal shelter of the donor's choosing, as Carolyn loved all animals, but especially the strays.
The Snyder Funeral Home is honored to be serving the family during this difficult time. On line condolences may be expressed to the family at www.SnyderFuneralHomes.com