Carol Goerke

Carol was always full of spirit and life; through her strength, humour, 
kindness and beauty, she made us all feel just a little bit better 
every time we were with her.

Carol was a very kind, caring and fun loving person with a beautiful smile and radiant personality. The light Carol held within her heart was visible for all to see the moment she entered a room and somehow everyone felt just a little bit better.  Carol loved very deeply and was so loved by her family, friends and colleagues. Carol always made sure that people knew how she felt about them and made them feel valued and loved.

Carol’s first priority was always her family. Carol met her husband in elementary school, they started dating in high school, and were married for 29 years. She was incredibly proud of their two children and all that they have accomplished.  She loved nothing more than spending time with her husband and children on ski vacations, at the cottage, and at home celebrating every holiday and milestone.  She was so excited to see her children growing up and becoming such caring and loving young adults.  

Carol valued family and loved having our extended family gather together for holidays and always found a way to make it special for everyone. Carol was the youngest of four siblings and we always teased that she was everyone’s favourite. We grew up in Belleville, Ontario, where our Dad was a local businessman. In recent years Carol walked each morning with our mom for many years and mom described her as her psychologist, always listening and helping her to solve her problems.  Even in her busiest times, Carol always found time to spend with our mom and dad most weekends.  After our father passed away during the pandemic, we learned to play bridge with our mom and had so much fun spending time together.  

Spending time at the family cottage when she was young, Carol developed a love of the water and the outdoors. In the last few years, their friends, her husband and of course her dog Willie, spent many nights camping on the shores on a northern lake.  Carol loved the time they spent there and it was such a great stress reliever for her during the busy times at work.  Her family also loved cottaging on West Lake every summer with friends close by, so the week was filled with laughter and fun times with friends and family.  Carol also loved traveling and was the ultimate tourist at every destination needing to visit all the sites!

Carol was so grateful to be raising her family on a street where people cared about each other and helped out whenever needed.  During the pandemic she loved meeting out on the street each night banging pots and pans to celebrate the health care professionals.  

Carol loved her work as the manager of the International Student Program in Hastings Prince Edward District School Board, and was fortunate to be able to travel the world and build relationships with students, parents and agents.  Carol’s incredible kindness and caring made families feel safe knowing that their children would be well cared for in Canada by school staff and host families in our community. Students immediately felt at ease and cared for under Carol’s leadership and guidance. Carol was especially grateful for her lifelong friend, 
she met early in her career with the school district, with whom they raised their children together.

Carol had not been feeling well and decided she should go to Belleville General Hospital Emergency to figure out what was going on. The doctors determined that she had leukemia and sent her immediately to Kingston General Hospital. Carol was scared and tired but she was so strong!  The Dr. spoke to us at about 12:30 a.m. and told her she would have a bone marrow biopsy the next day to determine what type of leukemia she would be battling.  Carol found out that she had ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia).  The doctors explained to her that this Leukemia was more common in children and tougher to treat in adults but that they had a plan and would start treatment immediately.  It was a tough diagnosis for Carol but she stayed strong and remained positive.  Of course she was doing this for all of us who were so worried!  When the doctor explained her treatment plan her response was “I have to fight, I have two children who need me and I want to see them graduate, get married, have children and every other milestone”!  

The nurses and doctors loved coming to see Carol as she was such a positive light in a very dark place. Carol was so kind to everyone that she even apologized if she flinched when the doctor was doing a lumbar puncture.  While in the hospital Carol received blood products almost every day.  She said to me “I am so grateful to the people who have donated their blood to help me and others with blood cancers”  “If people want to know how they can help me, just ask them to donate blood, that is the greatest gift they could give me”.  Carol was always thinking of others!

Carol's High School friends remained very close and would gather every year for a girls weekend to reconnect and share what was new in their lives and what their children were up to. Carol was described by all of them as an adventurous spirit with a beautiful smile and kind heart.  They said that there were three words to describe Carol: Happy, Grateful and Gracious.

Carol was in a Book Club for over 20 years and this group of women became a source of support, laughter and joy to one another over the years.  Her friends described her as a beautiful soul who valued connections, relationships and people. They enjoyed sharing a glass of wine and talking about the books they had read like one of their favourite authors, and definitely Carol's favourite, Louise Penny.  When she was in the hospital she was so excited to listen to an interview with Louise and Hilary Clinton on the new book they had written together.  

Carol was the “rock” for her family and friends. She was always there to support, lend an ear when someone needed to chat and was always ready with open arms for a hug when needed. Even when she was diagnosed with ALL and knew that the journey would be tough, she stayed strong and positive and gave everyone she loved hope.

My sister Carol was my hero, my champion and I am so grateful to have had 53 years of loving her and being there for each other in times of celebration and adversity.  My partner and I were so grateful for Carol for being such an incredible role model and support in the lives of our two daughters.  They adored Carol and felt so fortunate to have her and her family in their lives.  When Carol and I walked the halls of KGH, she noticed a sign for Light the Night Kingston. Every day that we walked she would mention the poster and we even took a picture of it so we could do more research. We learned that Light the Night was a fundraiser for research, advocacy and support for families impacted by blood cancer.  One day she said to me, “when I am better we are going to do this walk” and I said to her “we will all do it together Carol”.  So to honour Carol and continue her legacy of kindness, caring, giving and hope, we started Light the Night in Belleville with our team, Carol’s CureSADERS leading the way. We have established a team through Blood Services of  Canada Partner For Life Program which encourages blood donation and increasing stem cell registrants. I miss her every day and hope that I can continue her legacy of kindness, caring and hope.  

Carol’s love of life, happiness and caring personality 
was a magnet to all those around her.