Longtime Peninsula resident Carole Ann (Schrader) Wiegardt died peacefully September 16, 2016 in Petaluma, California. She was born March 30, 1936 in Seattle, Washington, the youngest of three daughters of Eva and Herbert Schrader.
Carole graduated from West Seattle High School and went on to the University of Washington, the first of her family to attend college. There, she met Jack Wiegardt, and they married in 1956. They moved to Ocean Park, where Jack joined the family oyster business.
In 1960, Jack formed Northwest Oyster Farms/Jolly Roger Seafoods and in 1963, Carole and Jack purchased the Nahcotta Store and Post Office, moving their growing family into the living quarters behind the store. For fifty years, Carole managed the post office, which recently celebrated its 125th anniversary.
After Jack died in 1987, Carole left the Peninsula and did some traveling before settling in Desert Hot Springs, CA. She moved back to Nahcotta in 2004 and lived there until 2013, when she relocated to Petaluma to be near her daughter, due to declining health.
Carole always had a big heart. While raising her own six children, her home was often a refuge for other children in the neighborhood or family who needed a place to stay – there was always room for one more at Carole’s table. She loved animals – there were usually several cats and large dogs in the household, and for a time the family also had horses.
Carole loved sunrises over Willapa Bay, cooking, gardening, reading and learning, her friends, her children, and her seven grandchildren, who were her pride and joy. Carole was passionate about community service and was on the board of several local organizations, including Friends of the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge, River City School of Arts and Crafts, Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum, and Taylor Ocean Park Cemetery Association. She helped found the Peninsula chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and co-taught family-to-family classes for them as well as serving on the board.
Carole is survived by children John, Liz, Andrew, Cris, and Paul, as well as grandchildren Randal, Aaron, Melanie, Charisse, Cody, Rachel, and Evie. She was preceded in death by husband Jack and son James.
Memorial contributions may be made to any of the organizations mentioned above.