In Memory

Carol Barkstrom (Carney) - Class Of 1949

Carol Barkstrom (Carney)

Carol Barkstrom Carney, 81, passed away peacefully on January 7, 2014 with family at her side. Carol was raised in San Marino, California and was the only child of Edward and Helen Barkstrom. At the age of 15, she spent three months in Brazil with friends and studied at the American School of Rio de Janeiro. Carol graduated from South Pasadena High School in 1949.

Carol received her BA degree in Home Economics from Mills College in Oakland in 1953. Three months later she married Homer (Carl) Carney, who was a graduate of UC Berkeley in Chemical & Nuclear Engineering. Their first home was in Richland, Washington, where Carol taught home economics. In 1955 they moved to Coronado, California, where Carol taught the first boys' home economics class in San Diego County. In 1958, the couple moved to the San Francisco East Bay area. While raising their two children, Carol was active in the local Mills Club, AAUW, Home Economics Club, PTA, and was one of the first docents in the California History department at the Oakland Museum. Her hobbies included jewelry making, crafts, sewing, cooking, reading, hula dancing, scuba diving, and rock and shell collecting. Carol loved Hawaii and made her first trip in 1952 with her parents.

After her divorce in 1971, Carol combined her artistic abilities and love for art and went to work for herself in Lafayette, California. She opened The Lamp Studio, where she designed and made custom lamps and shades, and sold the shop in 1973 to concentrate on her second business, Witherspoon Art Gallery and Frame Shop, which she opened in 1972. The gallery specialized in 19th and 20th century European and American art, oil painting restoration, and custom picture framing. In addition, she built a mail order business which sold art restoration supplies. She also taught restoration classes locally and through the Association of Restorers in Florida. Carol retired in 2005 after 34 years as a business owner.

Carol was a kind, generous, loving woman with a great sense of humor. She enjoyed spending time with family and friends and going to plays and musicals. She was the 1953 Mills College class secretary for several years, and she corresponded with 12 high school friends through a round-robin letter for 64 years.

Carol is survived by her son, Craig, her daughter, Cheryl; and four grandchildren.

Contra Costa Times, February 16, 2014