Carol Ann Cervenka Ecke, 64, of Great Falls, MT, passed away in June from complications after undergoing what was planned to be a routine heart valve replacement in Mesa, Ariz.
 
Carol, a speech-language pathologist, worked for the Great Falls Public Schools for 26 years, then retired and became a consultant, working with cooperatives and school districts, including the Malta schools. In Malta, she made many friends in the community and cared deeply about her students. She also traveled as a representative of the Stuttering Foundation, and was for an extended period the only speech-language pathologist in Montana who was board-certified in fluency by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
 
A memorial service was held at the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation in Great Falls, with internment in the church columbarium. 
 
People at the service were encouraged to wear bright clothing to celebrate her life, and to bring photos of Carol, as well as seashells and heart-shaped stones, in honor of her favorite collectibles. A Dixieland jazz band played.
 
Carol went west from New Jersey in 1977, securing a job setting up a new speech and language program on the Crow Indian Reservation in southeast Montana for the U.S. Indian Health Service.
 
In Hardin, she met weekly newspaper reporter Richard Ecke. Both moved to Great Falls in 1978, where Carol took a position with Great Falls Public Schools. The couple married June 23, 1979, at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Great Falls. Rich and Carol were perfect for each other. Each complemented the other in ways that made them both whole. Carol gave birth to her first child, Johanna, in April of 1983, and to another daughter, Meredith, in June of 1985. She was a wonderful mother to them. She cared for her mother, Helen, who moved to Montana in the mid-1990s, until Helen's passing in 2000.
 
A New Jersey girl to the core, Carol was a big fan of the “Jersey Boys” Broadway musical and of rocker Bruce Springsteen. She was skilled in the arts of sewing, weaving and chair caning. She was an early member of the Historic Preservation Commission in Great Falls, and was chairwoman of the Friends of the Library group. She liked to call herself an old hippie from the 1960s.
 
She and her family spent years renovating the former Anaconda Co. manager’s house after moving the structure to the Lower North Side from Black Eagle in 1983. Carol had an eye for décor, and maintained a beautiful home in which she loved hosting guests. 
 
Carol lit up a room when she entered it, showing enthusiasm for life and a joy in meeting people and making new friends. She loved visiting the beach, and could be found picking up seashells at the shore until the sun went down. She also loved visiting her daughter, Johanna, and her son-in-law Eric in New Orleans. She enjoyed walking around the French Quarter, listening to New Orleans jazz music and eating beignets with coffee and chicory. She was a master shopper and always found great deals. Her favorite store on trips was Anthropologie, where she could be found shopping the sale section. She loved antiques and finding bargains.
 
Carol was tremendously devoted to her family and friends and will be greatly missed every single day. She adored her grandchild, Eira, Meredith’s daughter, and was blessed to have been part of her first two years.
 
The Summer 2006 Newsletter had an in-depth article on her.