Mary Carol Lanhardt
Mary Carol Lanhardt
January 1, 1948 - April 18, 2007
You can shed tears that she is going,
or you can smile because she has lived.
You can close your eyes
and pray that she'll come back,
or you can open your eyes
and see all she has left.
Your heart can be empty
because you can't age her,
or you can be full of
the love you shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow
and live yesterday, or you
can be happy for tomorrow
because of yesterday.
You can remember her
and only that she's gone,
or you can cherish
her memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind,
be empty and turn your back,
or you can do what she'd want:
Smile, Open Your Eyes,
Love and Go on.
Carol joined her Savior on April 18, 2007. A loving wife, mother, nana and now an Angel of God.
At age 59 while living in Beaumont, California, Carol completed her fight against kidney cancer that started in 1991.
Carol had a life full of laughter, fun and joy beginning with Johnny and Mary Louise Luntz who adopted her after her birth on January 1, 1948.
Carol enjoyed her childhood growing up in Downey, CA. She attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Downey and Connelly High School in Anaheim.
Carol's youth included visits to Lake Arrowhead where she would eventually live. After running out of gasoline in Lake Arrowhead in 1967, she met her lifetime love, David Lanhardt. They were married for over 39 years.
Carol lived in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia from 1978 until 1998, but home was always Lake Arrowhead.
Carol's passion was her family, nothing brought her more joy than her grandchildren Kayley, Jack and Ivy Lanhardt, Meghan Porter, Katlyn Porter, and Caleb Wilson. Carol's family included husband David Lanhardt, son John Lanhardt, son Paul Lanhardt and daughter-in-law Amy Lanhardt, step-daughter Janelle Wilson and husband Donald Wilson.
Carol is also joined in Heaven with her cat Valentine, who died on April 14.
Carol loved the saying "Bloom where you are planted", and always found friends wherever God put her.
She loved being a member of The Red Hat Society, The Lake Arrowhead Women's Club and her prayer groups.