Emma E. (Cook) Carroll

Longtime resident Emma Elizabeth (Cook) Carroll died peacefully on April 21, 2021 at Kit Carson County Memorial Hospital in Burlington. She was 103 years old, born on October 19, 1917, in the year of the Spanish Flu pandemic. She once joked about her age saying that she was so old that all her friends in Heaven thought she hadn’t made it. She couldn’t wait to see the look on their faces the day she showed up. Emma was born to Arthur Garfield Cook Sr and Bessie Ellen (Alexander) Cook at home in the new town of Sublette in Haskell County Kansas. Early years were spent at the family homestead 25 miles northwest of Satanta, Kansas. She attended the Pleasant Prairie School and graduated high school in Sublette. After graduation in 1937, she worked as a cook at St. Catherine Hospital. On September 18, 1937, she married Ernest E Carroll, also a resident of Haskell County. The couple lived several years in Garden City, Kansas. In 1950, they moved to a farm south of Bethune. Emma was an active volunteer in the Bethune School and later drove a school bus on the south route. In 1961, they moved from the farm to a home in Bethune. Emma kept active doing many things. For 23 years, she worked at Gambles and later at Orth Department Store. Later she worked with her niece who owned and operated the local bakery. She spent her retirement years volunteering over 7,000 hours, at The Colorado Welcome Center, Grace Manor, Bethel Assembly of God, and the Senior Center where she delivered Meals on Wheels and was a member of RSVP and the quilting group. She is most known for her wonderful embroidery work, which won many awards. Her work was impressive, as you could never tell the backstitching from the front. For many years, she restored old dolls and she could sew their outfits without a pattern. She made dozens of quilts, was a crafter, loved poetry, created scrap books, put together puzzle’s and enjoyed long walks. More importantly, she loved her family. Emma was a quiet, strong willed lady and her faith was very important to her. Her friends enjoyed her dry humor and quick wit, her family knew her as the matriarch of the family. Her door was always open to loved ones. She lived a full life and her family will miss her deeply. She is survived by her daughter Marsha DeAnn (Carroll) Rau, daughter’s-in-law Helen Carroll and Cathy Carroll, 8 grandchildren; Teila (Carroll) Tankersley (Jeff), Darin Carroll, Tona (Carroll) Lujan, Monte (Darlene) Carroll, Daryl (Karen) Rau, Derek Rau, Devin Rau, Dan (Elizabeth) Rau. 15 great grandchildren and 5 great great grandchildren. She is proceeded in death by her siblings, Russell Leland Cook, Maynard Alfred Cook, Ruth Rebecca (Cook) Shotton, Arthur Garfield Cook, Jr., Paul John Cook, Marie Josie (Cook) Francis, husband, Ernest, sons; Dorsey and Nolan Carroll, daughter-in-law Judy (Schlichenmayer) Carroll, and many nieces and nephews. The family thanks the staff at The Legacy and the doctors, nurses, and emergency personnel at KCCMH for their dedication and kindness to our mother and grandmother. Memorials may be made to the Bethel Assembly of God for the Missions Fund in Emma's memory and may be left at or sent to Love Funeral Home, 377 15th Street, Burlington, Colorado 80807.