Carol Bay

April 8, 1932 - December 19, 2024

Carol Bay, also known as Dorothy Carol Morris, 92, of Port Byron, IL, died Thursday, December 19, 2024 at Unity Point Trinity-Bettendorf, after a long and productive life. Memorial services will be announced at a later date. Gibson-Bode Funeral Home, Port Byron is assisting with arrangements.

Carol was born on April 8, 1932 in Rahway, NJ, to George R. and Dorothy M. (Mayer) Schremp. She graduated from, worked for, and retired from the University of Chicago.

Carol was very involved in the Rock Island County and Iowa Republican politics and was elected to political offices. She loved to travel, and had visited all 7 continents and 50 states.

Carol leaves behind a grieving husband Lawrence Bay of Port Byron, IL; daughter Lisa Morris of Australia, and a rich legacy that includes the Port Byron 30 ft bicycle statue "Will B. Rolling", two 12 ft VOTE REPUBLICAN elephants, and her name on several donor plaques. Carol was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, Ralph Charles "Bud" Schremp. Share a memory or condolence at www.gibsonbodefh.com.

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Published by The Rock Island Dispatch Argus on Dec. 22, 2024.

Memories and Condolences
for Carol Bay

Sponsored by Gibson - Bode Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Ltd. - Port Byron.

5 Entries

Roger J Bay

June 5, 2025

Not long after Will B. Rolling was installed, I got to visit Carol and Lawrence in Port Byron. One of the first things we went to see was that impressive statue that would be hard to miss by anyone passing by. At the time, I couldn't quite understand what could have inspired them to take on such a project.

I eventually learned about how much they were enjoying retirement and how much they loved living in that town. We had a nice walk around Main Street and enjoyed talking during lunch at a restaurant nearby. I listened as Carol and Lawrence explained their activities during retirement. I had a hard time relating as I was still working.

In the evening, Carol and Lawrence invited us to join them at a dinner/play. They had seen it several times before but wanted to share the experience with us. We enjoyed the dinner and play, and now I was getting a glimpse into what retirement could look like.

Now that I am retired, I have a much fuller, and colorful, comprehension of what their life was like in Port Byron. On the one end of the spectrum, they were enjoying and supporting the community. (They told me about Tugfest, but I was visiting during the wrong week.) At the other end of the spectrum, they were creating a way for others to recognize their community and make them want to come and visit.

Will B. Rolling can be seen by the casual passerby, the biker on the Great River Trail, and even the people aboard river traffic. I learned later that the Will to Ben bike tour became an organized event for cyclists to ride from Port Byron to Sparta, Wisconsin.

In recent years, I moved to a small city in the southwest. There is a large bicycle statue along the bike path, but nowhere near as grand as Will. Whenever I ride past, it makes me think of Will though. It wasn't until Carol's passing that I chose to Google Will and see what is documented out there.

I was very pleased to see it featured nicely on the Port Byron webpage with Carol and Lawrence's names. I was a little more surprised to see a paragraph about Will on the Port Byron Wikipedia page. There were so many news articles and so many travel websites describing the "rider perched atop a Penny Farthing," many of them mentioning Carol and Lawrence's role in its installment.

Best of all, I found that the Will to Ben is still occurring and bringing people together and bringing those people to Port Byron. What a legacy! I have no idea if leaving any kind of legacy was on Carol's mind as she first thought of the statue.

As far as I'm concerned that's what she has done. She enjoyed her community and wanted more people to come out and do the same. A beautiful Legacy. A beautiful life.

Roger Bay
Boulder City, Nevada

Gary Snyder

December 25, 2024

Larry, I was so sorry to hear of Carol´s passing. I can´t imagine the pain you are going through right now. Please accept my sincere condolences.
A number of years ago, when my sister passed away, a friend from California sent me a letter of condolence. One of the most meaningful paragraphs contained the following words: I read and reread that paragraph repeatedly, and to this day, I can remember it word for word. I found his words to be most comforting, not only then but every time someone close to me passed. I am sharing those words with you, Larry, and I hope that you take comfort, too.

"The passing of a loved one can be likened to a ship spreading her sails and sailing far out over a blue ocean, as we stand on the shore and watch until at length the sail hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky mingle we say, "There, shes gone!"
But at that precise moment, there are other loved ones standing on the opposite shore shouting with joy "Here she comes!"

Carol was a very special person, those who were lucky enough to know her are feeling her loss. I take pride in the fact that I not only knew her.... but was blessed and proud to count her among my friends.

Larry may God Bless you, Carol, and your entire family.

Gary Snyder

Chris Cournoyer

December 24, 2024

My heartfelt condolences. I always enjoyed our conversations about politics, band and everything in between. Our thoughts are with your family and I will always think of you when I see the Scott County elephant!

Craig Hollister

December 24, 2024

Incredible life from an incredible lady. She is missed. I will never forget serving with her on the Port Byron Township board. Carol was always a stickler for typos lol.
Goodbye wonderful lady

Lawrence Bay

December 24, 2024

Thank you, Carol, for 35 wonderful years together.

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