Carol Corinne Charlton, passed away?April 18, 2016 in Caliente, NV at the age?of 65.
Carol was?born August 13,?1950 in Billings,?Montana. Her?parents were Harold ?Bud? Charlton and Dorothy?(Ernst) Charlton.?Carol was the?middle child with?one older sister?and one younger?brother.
Carol, along with her family, moved to?Caliente in 1964, she was 13 years old. She?attended Lincoln County High School?where she was active in many groups,?most notably drama and art. She graduated in 1968. After high school she moved?to Reno, married Alan Lees, and in October 1969 had her first daughter, Melody.
The 70?s were a wild time for Carol.?She inadvertently got wrapped up with?a Reno biker gang. Many of her stories?were more like a television show than?real life. Nobody could ever say her life?was boring, that is for sure! To escape?that lifestyle she eventually moved to?Las Vegas. Much to her parent?s dismay,?Carol, along with her brother Ed still?managed to get themselves into more?mischief than twenty people do in a lifetime.
Ten wild years and one divorce later,?Carol, now remarried to Jim Stombaugh,?would finally settle down some. She had?her only son, Jeff in January 1979, followed by her youngest daughter, Star in?January 1981. She worked both as a 21?dealer and as a teamster in Las Vegas.?She bought a nice house on what was?then the outskirts of Las Vegas. Rainbow was a dirt road. Carol knew that Las?Vegas was not the way she wanted her?children to grow up. She recalled very?vividly one Easter Sunday she just felt?compelled to change. She was always doing things on a whim. Carol made the decision right then to move back to Caliente?to raise her young children. She told her?husband to get his affairs in order and ?ship out. She, along with her children,?and her favorite Doberman moved back?to Caliente in 1983.
Carol was an eccentric free spirit with?one of the biggest hearts you?d ever find?in a person. She was always rooting for?the underdog and she tried to find good?in everyone she came across. She would?give rides to hitchhikers, a room to anyone without a place to stay, and the last?dollar in her pocket to a friend in need.?Carol, although unlucky in love, had?no regrets from her two marriages. She?always said her children were the best?thing to ever happen to her.
Carol suffered a stroke and after that?her body wouldn?t function the way she?so desperately wanted it to. Loss of function in her right arm hindered her ability?to do artwork. The nerve damage, unbearable. Even through all the physical?issues she held it together, at least until?2005 when she lost her son in a tragic?work accident. It broke her soul and she?was never able to cope. Until you walk in?her shoes, walk the path she traveled, live?her sorrows, her doubts, her pain…and if?you get as far as she did then maybe, just?maybe you will see how strong she really?was. Carol?s beautiful soul has finally?been freed from this world. She is now?with the people she loved most and her?son was there to welcome her.
Carol was preceded in death by her?son, Jeff Stombaugh, her parents Bud &?Dorothy Charlton; and her brother Ed?Charlton.
Carol is survived by daughters Melody?(Steve) Roberts of Green River, WY; and?Star (Beau) Stewart of Las Vegas, NV; her?sister Linda (Dennis) Carpenter of Las?Vegas; four grandchildren, Jade, Sarah,?Cash, and Hayvn; as well as nieces and?other family.
Services were held on Monday, April?25, 2016 where she was laid to rest in?Caliente.
The family would like to express their?sincere appreciation to everyone who?reached out with cards, flowers, meals,?and phone calls. Thank you to Bishop?Katschke for pulling us out of the rain?last minute. Thank you to Tonya, Erik,?Kassidy, and Carrie for being there for?her these past few years. A very special?and heartfelt thank you to Mr. John Ahlstrom and family who were always there?for mom in life and after.