Carol Mink

1936 - 2023

Carol Clifford Mink
December 14, 1936 - December 4, 2023
Resident of Burlingame, Calif.
Carol Clifford Mink, died peacefully on December 4, 2023, in San Mateo, Calif., after an extended illness. Carol was predeceased by her husband, Charles Mink; and survived by family members, Christine Mink, Stephen Mink and Juanita Mah; and their sons, Brett and Scott, Gilbert and Tina Mink, Wendy Hohl, Dianne and Ken Keown; and longtime family friend, Wayne Phillips.
Carol was born in Pasadena, Calif., to Tom and Dorothy Clifford. The family moved to Santa Barbara, Calif., four years later, where Carol was raised, educated and first worked behind the soda counter in her father's pharmacy. During Carol's high school tenure, she became intrigued by radio and helped a well-known regional announcer call the local minor league baseball team games. This unique experience propelled Carol to have her own local weekly radio interview program. This continued when Carol moved to the Bay Area, where she hosted interviews with musical performers of the cultural scene.
Carol attended the University of California at Berkeley and San Francisco State University, where she worked for the Department of Geography as a teaching assistant. It was in this environment that Carol became infatuated with the forces of nature impacting the lives, cultures, and beliefs of human inhabitants around the globe.
Carol became a private pilot, flying out of San Carlos Airport, thrilled with overseeing the State of California from the air. She was devoted and enthralled with American musical theater and opera, working at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco and volunteering at the San Francisco Opera House and San Francisco Symphony in her early years; and she continued to attend performances until recent years.
Carol had a diverse and productive career as a teacher of Social Science at San Mateo High School and later as department chair. She was a strong mentor for new teachers to the profession and focused her teaching career towards creative ways to impart knowledge and academic skills to students. One of Carol's teaching goals was to impart to her students and interns alike the idea that the Earth is a beautiful place that needed to be admired and protected for both present and future generations. Carol met Charles Mink at San Mateo High school and they were married in 1978.
In retirement, Carol became a longtime volunteer to the late Congressman Tom Lantos of the 12th District, where she focused on community relations and events, and guiding student interns, a role she deeply enjoyed. Carol had other interests that included a commitment and immersion into Native American issues and cultural art of the Southwest, along with a fascination with Alaskan and Canadian Inuit history, culture and art. Carol was proud of the Charles and Carol Mink Native American art being both displayed and applied as teaching artifacts at the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park.
Carol will be greatly missed by family, past colleagues, friends, former students, and by those who experienced her engaging personality, and admired her commitment to local community involvement. Celebration of Life plans are pending.