Carol Louise Oakes

Carol Oakes, loving wife, passed away on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at the age of 63. Carol was born to Orval and Viola Meyer. At the age 18, she moved with her parents to Tulsa, Oklahoma and began college at the University of Oklahoma where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. At the university, she started folk dancing, and became a club leader and a teacher. She was a self-taught software programmer while at the Federal Aviation Administration. In 1979, she moved with Dick Oakes to California where she continued programming and folk dancing. Carol and Dick traveled all over the United States, including to Alaska three times and Hawaii (two of her favorite states) with Colorado being number one. In 1981, she traveled with Dick to the 1300th Anniversary of the town of Koprivštica, Bulgaria, as well as to Romania and the countries that made up Yugoslavia. Carol had a life-long interest in traditional needlework and crafts (cross stitching, Hardanger embroidery, knitting, crocheting, beading, kumihimo, tatting, quilting, needlepoint, spinning, and weaving). In 1995 she moved with Dick to Highlands Ranch, Colorado, and the couple were married on their deck. In 2010, they moved to Heather Gardens in Aurora, Colorado where she remained until her death. Carol died from complications related to cancer of her gall bladder and liver. She is survived by her husband Dick, parents Orval and Vi Meyer, sister Nancy Meyer Davis, and brothers Larry and Roger Meyer. A memorial service will be held in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Memorial contributions may be made to the National Cancer Society, Denver Dumb Friends League, or Flight for Life.