Carol Ruth Tower

Carol Ruth “Anderson” Tower passed away peacefully on October 27, 2024, with her husband of 47 years and 3 sons at her side. A celebration of Carol’s life will be held 3:00pm Saturday, November 9, 2024 at Park Lawn Northland Chapel. (1640 N. MO Hwy 291, Liberty, MO 64068). The family will receive friends from 2-3 Pm Saturday prior to the service. Private family burial at another time

Following the celebration, the family will be hosting a party for Carol her favorite spot, Taps on Main – 1715 Main Street, KCMO. The party will start at 5 and go all night long. All are welcome to come have a drink and some food and celebrate the life of a woman that so many loved so much!

Carol was born on January 6, 1950, in Kansas City, Missouri, the second of Hugh and Bonnie Anderson’s five children. She cherished her time growing up with her brothers and sisters, and often spoke of the long car trips the family would take to visit her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins on the family farm in central Arkansas. She remained close with her siblings for her entire life, staying in constant text/phone communication with them and participating in “sibling Zoom” sessions for the past several years.

Upon graduation from Southeast High School, she chose to continue her education at William Jewell College in Liberty. She was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority and was active in numerous clubs and organizations at Jewell. It was also there that she met her future husband – Barry Tower, then of Tonawanda, NY.

Carol and Barry were married on August 13, 1977, and would remain inseparable. Barry would often (correctly) refer to her as “The best person I’ve ever met.” The two settled in the Northland and would stay there to raise their family. Carol and Barry provided the textbook example of how to have a successful and happy marriage. Their love for one another and the example they set have been and will continue to be an inspiration for their children and grandchildren, along with many others.

They had 3 sons – Jason, Marc, and Grant – and dedicated their lives to raising them. She embraced the role of boy mom – taking an active role in their schooling and extracurricular activities. She took a hiatus from teaching for several years to stay home with her boys, which was some of the most rewarding time of her life. She often served as room mother when her kids were in elementary school, and was their (2x state champion) Odyssey of the Mind coach when they were in middle school. Carol’s role as a mother was the most important thing she ever did, and she never took time spent with her children for granted (nor did they). Although Carol never had a daughter, she formed a special bond with each of her daughters-in-law, Angie, Kelsey, and Jess, and loved them as if they were her own.

Carol enjoyed a lengthy and influential career as a public educator in the Northland. She worked for the North Kansas City School District as an elementary and middle school teacher for 10 years in the 1970s and 1980s. She took a brief hiatus to stay home with her sons, and returned to the district in the 1990s, where she was a Title One coordinator and instructional coach. Carol retired from teaching in 2010 and received numerous tributes from all those that she influenced over the years. She was a truly gifted teacher, both for her students and colleagues. It was her passion, and the lives that she impacted through her 30+ year career are truly countless. As her grandson Chase remarked after her passing, “I don’t think I’d be able to read if it wasn’t for Grammy.”

Carol had numerous interests throughout her life. She was an amazing cook, and baked the world’s best chocolate chip cookies. She could sew and play the piano. She was passionate about exercise and staying in shape. She walked miles around the neighborhood or along the beach every day, and belonged to an online exercise group. She loved word games, spending hours keeping her mind sharp by doing them every day, even joining an online puzzle group through which she made many friends. She also enjoyed competing with her children in Wordle and the NYT Mini Crossword on a daily basis. She became the primary caretaker for both her mother, Bonnie, and her Aunt Tina (Marquart) in their later years.

In the summer of 1994, Carol’s life changed forever when she and Barry took the family on a trip to Cocoa Beach, Florida. The couple would fall in love with Cocoa Beach, vacationing there with the family and by themselves annually, which led them to purchase an oceanside condo there in 2013. Carol and Barry split their retirement years between Cocoa Beach and Kansas City, never wanting to be away from their children and grandchildren for too long. Carol loved taking long walks on the beach and sitting on the balcony, listening to the waves and feeling the ocean breeze while doing a word puzzle. She enjoyed having a glass of red wine while dining at her favorite restaurants on the beach. She loved inviting her grandchildren to the condo and taking them on various adventures around the town. Carol and Barry made numerous friends in Cocoa Beach, and it became a second home for the pair. They are extremely grateful for the time they got to spend together and with family and friends in the Sunshine State.

In 2012, Carol began the most rewarding phase of her life – being a grandmother. She was an amazing Grammy to Cameron, Chase, Brooks, Maisie, Emmy, and grandchild #6 due next month. She cherished her time with her grandchildren. She spent hours and hours reading to them, playing with them, teaching them how to cook, and just enjoying being a grandmother. She lived 7 houses away from Cameron and Chase – they would drop by to visit, and would enjoy dinner at her house almost weekly, which she absolutely loved. The time she spent with her grandchildren was a gift – both to her and to them.

As the tributes have poured in, it’s become more evident than ever the impact that Carol had on so many lives. She was the first person you’d go to for advice or to share news. She had a gift for knowing what to say and when to say it. She was compassionate and practical and dedicated her life to making the lives of those she loved better. Carol was truly one of a kind and will never be forgotten.

Carol is survived by her husband of 47 years, Barry, of Kansas City, her sons Jason (Angie) of Kansas City, Marc (Kelsey) of Lee’s Summit, and Grant (Jess) of Kansas City, her grandchildren Cameron, Chase, Brooks, Maisie, and Emmy, her brother John (Renee) Anderson of La Jolla, CA, sisters Marilyn (Tom) Coleman of Alexandria, VA, and Patty (Benji) Brue of Jackson, MI, and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Hugh and Bonnie Anderson, and her brother James (Elke) Anderson.

The family would like to extend our sincere thanks to everyone for your support over the past 5 months. In lieu of flowers (seriously, Barry can’t do flowers) the family is asking for donations to the following charities:

Turn the Page KC: https://turnthepagekc.org

The University of Kansas Cancer Center: https://www.kansashealthsystem.com/giving/ways-to-give/make-a-gift/cancer-care

Brevard County Zoo Wildlife Rescue Fund: https://brevardzoo.org/support/rescue-fund/