Caroline Sophia Rose was born on August 22, 1927 to Frederick Karl and Emma Bertha Schiller. She was their only child. Her father, of German descent, was born in Russia and immigrated to America as a young man; her mother immigrated from Germany. Sadly, Caroline lost her mother to illness when she was a little girl, so she was raised by her single father in a tiny house where she was born in NE Portland. She graduated from Jefferson High School, and while there was particularly involved in the Spanish Club.
Caroline and her childhood best friend Marjorie married the Cobb brothers: Marjorie to Dave, and Caroline to Joe. Caroline enjoyed twenty some years of married life with Joe. She had her hands full raising four daughters born within a six-year period. As a family they participated in antique car club events and Arabian Horse showing, all the while she was also helping Joe in the family lumber business, keeping books, answering telephones, etc. To her sadness, her marriage to Joe ended in divorce.
On an Easter Sunday sometime during her mid-twenties, Caroline invited Jesus into her heart. Since then, seeking and serving the Lord has been her foundation. “I found that He is always available and eager to help me – but I have to ask and be open to receive from Him.” Her girls remember the Godly influence in their lives early on when, as a young mother, Caroline made sure that Sunday School was a part of their lives. Throughout the years, she was unfailingly committed and active with her church families in Gresham Foursquare, Women’s Aglow, Sandy Presbyterian, and Living Word Fellowship. She loved to volunteer and was once honored as first runner-up in the Oregon Volunteer of the Year contest sponsored by the Oregon HealthCare Association for her extensive volunteer work with nursing home patients, reading to them, visiting, writing letters, and recruiting other volunteers. Volunteering kept her busy, and in her later years when she could no longer be as active as she’d once been, she began knitting stocking hats for missions. When she passed, she was well on her way to her goal of 1,000 hats.
She loved her family, travel, camping, hiking, bird watching, gardening, music, thrifting, and almost anything arts & crafty – painting, card making, etc. Caroline likely inherited her love of birds, especially small birds, from her mother, who was a registered canary breeder. A connection to her German-Russian heritage was important to her; she was active with the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia and used their resources for ancestry research.
She also loved to square dance, which she enjoyed during her years as a single woman until a handsome younger dark-eyed stranger, Gary Smith, swept her off her feet. He said, “Could I have this dance for the rest of my life,” and that sealed the deal. Gary and Caroline were married on September 16, 1990. During their 30 years together, they made their home on the banks of the Sandy River and enjoyed travel in Europe as well as the U.S.
After Gary retired from electrical construction in 2004, the two of them climbed into their RV every winter and headed out to serve the Lord through the Assemblies of God U.S. MAPS (Mission America Placement Services) a program that coordinates workers to assist churches and other ministries with construction and evangelism projects. Tired of Oregon’s dark and rainy winters, Caroline loved assignments in sunny places, especially The Castle Teen Challenge campus in Riverside, California. But no matter where they were placed for MAPS, she especially loved going to Quartzsite, Arizona each winter to rekindle friendships and enjoy daily music jams.
Caroline passed peacefully on Sunday, September 20 th, the Lord’s Day. Because of the recent wildfires, Gary and Caroline had evacuated their house and sought refuge inside their church. How fitting that she would spend her last days in a house of God, in a cozy setting with a tapestry of Jesus watching over her. She was 93, deeply loved, and will be missed by many. She is survived by her loving husband Gary; her four daughters: Sonya (Chris) Bickford, Leslie Radke, Patsy (Chuck) West, and Laurie (Bob) Whitton; three grandchildren: Wade (Melissa) Radke, Andrea (Stuart) Wurdinger, and Carrie (Jordan) Frost; and seven great-grandchildren: Zachary, Rowan, Emmalee, Danner, Brodie, Sadie, and Rhett.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held Saturday, September 26 at 2:00 p.m. at the Living Word Fellowship Church in Boring, Oregon. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Living Word Fellowship Church or Teen Challenge Southern California.