Carol D. Juricic

Carol Dean Juricic (née Witt), 82, of La Crosse, WI passed away unexpectedly on May 3, 2021 from COVID-19-induced pneumonia.

Carol was born on August 15, 1938 to Arthur and Alma Witt in La Crosse, WI.  She was a beauty school teacher before following her passion: being a mother.  Carol dedicated her life to being a fantastic mom.  In addition to her four adopted children, she provided a loving home to over 200 foster children.  She was extremely proud of her children.  Their civic-mindedness and activism reflect the values she instilled.  She would brag about them to anyone who would listen.  She didn't believe biology dictated a familial bond and would mother anyone who needed one.  Species didn’t matter either.  She loved animals and wanted to adopt them all.  She loved her grandpets as much as any grandchildren and spoiled them just as rotten.  She only had one rule when it came to children and pets, you can’t have only three.  She said it was to prevent one from being left out.  It’s a good rule.

As the only remaining child of the Witts, Carol was nicknamed by the family “wise one” and assumed the owl as her symbol.  She lived up to the title by beating her friends and relatives on game nights.  She was always up for euchre or cards of any sort and was a fierce Trivial Pursuit competitor.

Carol enjoyed feeding and caring for people.  She never met a cookbook, especially a church one, she didn't like and collected more recipes than she could ever possibly make.  With her passing goes a number of family recipes that only she knew because a recipe could never be written.  One has to go by taste.  Nobody could quite replicate her cooking and baking.  Not a day went by that her family didn’t have some sweet treat or delicious bread to go with meals.  For many years, she maintained a garden and canned just about everything you can imagine.

Carol devoured movies, TV shows, books, and music. She took her children to the movies every week, no matter the movie, just as her mother had done with her.  She especially enjoyed movies with a good soundtrack.  She watched Phantom of the Opera so many times she wore a hole in the DVD.  She religiously watched her “shows” while drinking a cold glass of white wine and eating a snack bag of Lay’s potato chips.  When illness took one of her eyes and she could no longer read comfortably, she switched to audiobooks and would consume them faster than they could arrive from the library.  She passed those passions onto her children.

She derived great pleasure from Halloween and horror.  She would say, “the gorier, the better” and delighted in the shock on people’s faces to see such a sweet, matronly woman with zombie gnomes and a skull blanket prominently displayed.  A horror movie was only deemed “good” if it could make her jump.  That was a very high bar and not many movies could make the cut.  With that mindset, she raised her children to be bold, fearless, and adventurous.

Although she missed her husband, Carol was not ready to go.  She still had big plans for the future.  She was fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and followed all the guidance.  As one of her final messages, she wanted people to know that vaccinated doesn’t mean immune.  She expected everyone to keep taking precautions to keep themselves safe and protect those around them.

Carol was predeceased by her husband, Paul, and her son, Bill.  She is survived by her daughters, Jeannette and Sheila, and her son, Tony, as well as her beloved grandpets. She touched so many lives and will be forever loved and remembered.

A celebration of Carol’s life will be held on Wednesday, May 12, 2021 from 5 until 7 P.M. at Schumacher-Kish Funeral and Cremation Services Onalaska chapel; 907 Sand Lake Rd.  Private family burial will take place at a later date in Illinois.

Carol asked that those wishing to honor her memory make a donation to the ASPCA, their local animal shelter, Make-A-Wish, or Give Kids the World.

A celebration of Carol's life will be held from 5 until 7 P.M. on Wednesday, May 12, 2021 at Schumacher-Kish Funeral and Cremation Services Onalaska chapel; 907 Sand Lake Rd.