Carol Christine Tholkes, daughter of Philip and Christina (Bresson) Millard, was born on April 14, 1933 in Canby, Minnesota. She passed away on April 26, 2024 at the Good Samaritan Society in Estherville at the age of 91 years.
During high school Carol met a boy named James Tholkes. They started dating after their junior prom. The couple graduated from Canby High School in 1951, where Carol was valedictorian and had the lead in her high school play. Following high school Carol worked at a bank in Ivanhoe, Minnesota. Jim entered the Army and returned to Canby to marry Carol on November 9, 1953. The couple spent their first few married years stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington where they started their family. Following Jim’s military discharge, they returned to the Midwest. In 1957, they moved to Estherville where they managed and owned the Ben Franklin Store. In addition to supporting Jim at the store and hosting their annual Christmas parties, Carol was a loving wife, mother and full-time homemaker.
While their family was young, they enjoyed spending the summers at their cottage on Spirit Lake. During the winters they enjoyed snow skiing at Holiday Mountain as a family. When the children were grown Carol and Jim sold the cottage and later purchased a home in Florida, where they would spend time over the next 20 years.
As a Girl Scout leader to her daughters’ troops, Carol taught them leadership and other valuable skills. Throughout the years on many afternoons Carol could be found around a kitchen table with friends enjoying a cup of coffee and a game of cards. She enjoyed jigsaw puzzles, crosswords, playing the piano and organ, baking, reading, and especially family board games with kids and grandkids. There were many marathon games of Phase 10 played in the Tholkes home.
Carol was a member of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Estherville, where she was involved in Altar and Rosary Society. As a 53-year cancer survivor she was a passionate leader in the Emmet County Relay for Life and an active member of the Survivor Team. She will be remembered for volunteering her time, energy, and creative talents for many charitable and church events.
She is survived by her husband of 70 years, Jim Tholkes of Estherville; her children: Debbie (John) Rudd of Estherville; Cindy (Al) Yaworske of St. John’s, FL; Greg (Cathy) Tholkes of Shorewood, MN; Lori (Tom) Venable of Ann Arbor, MI; and Judy (Jeff) Helgeson of Sioux Falls, SD; grandchildren: Katie (Gabriel Pereira) Tholkes, Tony (Kara) Tholkes, Jason (Allison) Yaworske, Cara (Matt) Sweeney, Josh (DeAnna) Helgeson, Jenna (Kyle) Trefethren, Jeff (Amy) Venable, and Erin Venable; 9 great-grandchildren and 2 more on the way; and many nieces, nephews and extended family members.
She is preceded in death by her parents, an infant son, sisters Doris Schmidt and Phyllis Betts, and brothers Donald and Archie Millard.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to Emmet County Relay for Life.
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