Carolyn A. Bunch

Carolyn Ann Wiese Bittinger Bunch was born on a farm near Bennett, Iowa on May 28, 1930, to Ruth and Leroy Wiese. She left this world early in the morning of Friday, December 20, 2024. During her 94 ½ years of life she was an example of hard work, kindness, and love, for everyone in her family, and all who knew her. Carolyn taught us all that “this too shall pass” and to always “accentuate the positive” in any situation. Some of her last words were: “Always love each other. The world needs more love.” Being the oldest of eight children on a farm, Carolyn learned early in life about hard work and caring for others. She helped raise all her brothers and sisters and was actively involved in the challenges of keeping house in rural mid-20th century Iowa. This includes everything from washing clothes with a wringer style washer, to butchering hogs and making sausage. Many anecdotes from her life growing up on the farm were recorded in her memoir: “Things I Remember”, that she self-published in 2023. When Carolyn was only four, she started attending a small, one-room school near their farm. She attended that little country school until ninth grade, when she then went to nearby Tipton for high school. Carolyn always loved school and instilled a love of learning in her children and grandchildren. After graduating from high school, Carolyn was off to Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa to study Home Economics. There she met an Engineering student named Morton Bittinger. Carolyn and Morton were married in December of 1948. Their marriage produced three children, and Morton’s career took them, in1957, to Fort Collins, Colorado, where she lived for the next thirty years. Carolyn ran the household. Planning and cooking meals, sewing and mending children’s clothes, decorating, cleaning, and gardening. She truly was, as she referred to herself, a ‘homemaker’. She preferred that term to being called a “housewife”. “I’m not married to a house!”, she would say. Carolyn and Morton divorced in 1985. A few years later, while traveling on her own, she met Jim Bunch, a soon-to-be retired Greyhound Bus driver. They were married in 1990. Though they lived in Albuquerque, NM, they spent much of their time traveling the country in their class A Motor home. When Jim passed away in 1999, Carolyn returned to Colorado to live nearer to her children and grandchildren. Every year since, her family members have gathered in May at her home in Fort Collins to celebrate her birthday. Throughout her life, Carolyn was a strong supporter of, and participant in the arts. She taught herself oil painting and produced dozens of beautiful landscapes and still lifes. She supported the Fort Collins Symphony, played classical recordings in the home, and made sure her children had music lessons. She taught herself to play guitar! She sewed, embroidered, crocheted, tatted, quilted, and knit. All her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are being warmed by her beautiful afghans, (“Grandma Blankets” as they are called). Not to mention sweaters, scarfs, mittens, and hats! For many years, Carolyn was also an avid bird watcher. She kept a log of every species that would visit her bird feeders and knew them all by sight and song. Carolyn always loved writing and receiving letters and cards from friends and family. She kept track of everyone’s birthday and anniversaries. Later in life, as macular degeneration took most of her eyesight, one of her great regrets was no longer being able to read and write letters. Her declining eyesight also took away her joy of reading books. She loved reading, especially biographies and memoirs, and would go through several every year. Carolyn lived a full and productive life. She was kind to everyone she met. She leaves a legacy of love and will be missed by all who knew her! Carolyn is preceded in death by her parents, and brothers: Warren, Harold, Walter, and Roger; and sister: Lois She is survived by a brother: Frank Wiese, of Athens, Tx, a sister: Joyce Meier, of Wilton, IA; Daughters: Cathy Bittinger, of Henderson, NV, and Ruth (Dave) Bennett, of Boulder, CO; son: Tom (Beth Wells) Bittinger, of Ft. Collins, CO. Three granddaughters: Melissa Sullivan, Janelle Luther, and Caitlin Kessel; Two step-grandchildren: Ryan Ellison and Tyler Ellison; and four great-grandchildren. A private Family remembrance will be scheduled at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations in her name can be sent to the Fort Collins Symphony: https://fcsymphony.org, or your favorite local arts organization. And please, give each other a hug, from Carolyn.