Carol Spellman

Carol Spellman SIOUX CITY | Mary Carolyn Spellman, 96, of Sioux City passed away Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016 at Holy Spirit Retirement Home. Funeral services will be 11:00 A.M. Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016 at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church with Rev. Daniel Rupp officiating. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery. Visitation will be 4-8 p.m. Friday with the family present 5-8 p.m., a rosary service led by the Carmelite Board and St. Theresa Study Club at 4 p.m. and a vigil service at 7 p.m. at Holy Spirit Retirement Home Chapel.  Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel is handling arrangements. Condolences may be sent online at www.meyerbroschapels.com. Carol Spellman was born to the late John and Mary (Connolly) Dwight, August 11,1919. Raised on a farm outside Des Moines, IA and one of nine children, Carol had a can-do spirit. Though times were difficult, her family made do by raising and growing their own food and attending swap meets.  Carol was able to go to Dowling Junior College and worked in her father’s dentist office.  After graduation, she married George Spellman and they lived in Iowa City while he attended medical school.  After graduation, he was stationed at Madigan General, at Fort Lewis WA.  After WWII, they lived briefly in Mitchell SD and then came to Sioux City IA to start Dr. Spellman’s medical practice.  While his practice grew from “some days only seeing the drug reps come in the office” to his busy practice, Carol raised six children and kept the “home fires burning”.  Carol could look at something in the house, figure out how it should be repaired, and often did it herself. She was one of the first people to start using an Apple computer and she kept her books electronically on Quicken into her mid-90’s. Carol loved to figure out how to do things on the Apple and was “tickled by the logic of it all.” Carol and George were devoted members of Blessed Sacrament Church and instrumental in assisting Carol’s sister, the late Mother Agnes of Divine Love, OCD, with establishing the Carmelite Monastery in Sioux City, IA.  She was an active member of the Carmelite Guild, St. Theresa Study Club, Blessed Sacrament Bridge Club, Monday Night Shoppers Club and, in later years, thoroughly enjoyed, with her husband, being part of “the Breakfast Club” which met every weekday morning after early morning Mass.  Above all, her greatest joy was her children, her grandchildren and her great- grandchildren.  Whenever she spoke on the phone, one of the first questions was how the grandchildren and great-grandchildren were doing.  A “cousin reunion” of all the grandchildren in Sioux City, evolved into the Okoboji tradition where the far-flung family members gathered each summer.  Carol’s children and especially her grandchildren carry wonderful memories of the weeks there together, enjoying each other, learning to water ski and being in the warmth and freedom of an Iowa summer. Carol will be deeply missed by her family and her friends. She is survived by six children, Carolyn and Harold Rambow of Walworth, WI; Dr. George Jr. and Ellen Spellman of La Mesa, CA; Mary Alice Spellman of San Pedro, CA; Elizabeth and Jim Chrisinger of Burien, WA; Drs. John and Eliza Pile-Spellman of Pelham, NY; and Loretta and Joe Hoffman of Columbus, OH. Surviving grandchildren are John Rambow (Don McConnell); Beth Rambow; Mark Rambow;  Dr. Christopher Spellman (Dr. Michelle Lee); Matthew Spellman (Julie); Angela Finn (Tom), Stuart Gross (Alina), Dr. John Aranake-Chrisinger (Dr. Amrita), Georgia Chrisinger,  Dr., Megan Ridley-Lane (Emerson), Katherine Pile-Spellman, Julian Pile-Spellman (Isabella), Paul Hoffman (Halley), Joanna Hoffman and Laura Hoffman (Ronnie).  Surviving great grandchildren are Connor and Aidan Spellman and Emma and Sophia Ridley-Lane.  She is also survived by a sister, Kathryn Buser; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. George Spellman, three infant children, Therese Marie, Joseph and Thomas, three brothers and four sisters. Memorials may be made in Carol’s name to the Carmelite Monastery or to Holy Spirit Retirement Home. A special thank you to the staff at Holy Spirit for their wonderful care at the end of her years.