Carolyn Woodbury

Carolyn Woodbury, 89, passed away peacefully Sunday, August 17, in Fort Collins, Colorado. Born in Fargo, North Dakota, the adopted daughter of a Norwegian immigrant father, Osborne Anderson, and his wife Ruth Anderson, Carolyn was raised in Columbia Heights Minnesota, just north of Minneapolis. She followed a path that would bring her and her family to Missoula, Montana where she lived for 32 years, and later to Lopez Island, Washington where she and her husband lived from 1998 to 2018. Carolyn earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota in 1958. It was during a summer college break, while working as a Cashier in the Many Glacier Hotel in Glacier National Park, that she met her husband to be of 59 years, George Woodbury Jr., who was working as a boatman on Lake Josephine. Carolyn and George were married in 1960 and settled in Minneapolis where Carolyn was teaching at Mounds View High School before giving birth to her daughter Joan in 1963. Two years later, the family moved to Ithaca, New York, for a one-year stay during which son David was born. In 1966 the family packed into a blue Dodge van and made the cross-country trek to Missoula, immediately falling in love with the community and its people. Carolyn became a teacher at the Missoula Vocational-Technical Center, which later became a subsidiary of the University of Montana. She taught accounting, typing, shorthand, and other “office occupations” for many years and found time to earn her credentials as a Certified Public Accountant. Carolyn took up running in the 1970s, and in doing so discovered a lifelong passion. She became a fixture in Missoula and Montana distance running, entered as many races as possible, and often found her way to the top of the podium. She was an elite masters marathoner who competed in the biggest events across the county, to include the Boston Marathon, and – just weeks after the 9/11 attack in 2001 – the New York City Marathon. Later in life Carolyn and George began spending time on Lopez Island, eventually deciding to make it their permanent retirement location. From there, they accessed Puget Sound and beyond aboard their 30-foot motorsailer Lionheart, venturing as far north as Glacier Bay, Alaska. These voyages were but a few entries on a larger list of adventures that included tandem bicycle tours of England and New Zealand, camper trips all over the American Southwest, and yearly retreats to Oaxaca Mexico with dear friends. Carolyn was preceded in death by her husband George, who passed in 2019, and is survived by her children Joan (with husband Steve) and David (with wife Meghan), her six beloved grandchildren, and a treasure trove of family recipes including her famous lefse. The family is planning a celebration of life in Missoula next summer.

Carolyn Woodbury

August 17, 2025