Carol Lynn Nesi Hermansen's Obituary
Carol Lynn Nesi Hermansen, an Elect Lady, passed away March 6, 2023, at the age of 84 in Murray, UT. Carol was born to Angelo and Beverly M. Shugart Nesi on July 29, 1938. She grew up in Rose Park and graduated from West High School where she was Valedictorian. She married Charles Dean Hermansen on June 27, 1959 and together they settled in Murray City to raise their family. She is survived by Dean; daughter Diane (Dan) Pope, their two sons and 5 grandchildren; daughter Sheila (Dale) Richards, their 6 children and 11 grandchildren; and son Bryan (Tina) and their 4 sons. She is also survived by her brother Paul (Colleen) Nesi and one step-sister, Vivian (Dale) Thibault. Carol was preceded in death by two step-sisters and three grandchildren: Benjamin Pope, Andrea Richards and Jessica Hermansen.
Carol was a working mom when that wasn’t a popular thing to be. She worked at New York Life Ins., ZCMI, Arlington and Horizon Elementary, and finished her career working in the maintenance department of Murray City School District. She was a member and leader in the UAEOP (Utah Association of Educational Office Professionals) and NAEOP.
Carol had many talents to share. She had a fondness for the theatrical arts. She produced and directed several Stake plays for Murray Utah South Stake from “It Begins with Balloons” to “Flight 409”. She wrote and organized many years of LDS Roadshows. In 1976, the mayor of Murray asked some very talented women, along with Carol, to produce a Bicentennial extravaganza. The mayor was so impressed that he worked with Carol and others to form the Murray Arts Council in 1977 and to build an amphitheater in Murray Park. Carol and Dean worked every summer to make floats and provide a crafting booth on the 4th. Then they produced a fund-raising event and a popular musical every year in July, around her birthday; only quitting when Carol’s health became too cumbersome. Carol volunteered to work together with Dean at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and at Cottonwood Hospital, then IMC. Those who knew Carol can say that she did it all with style.
Carol had a flair for big event decorating even as far back as when she was a leader in the M-Men & Gleaners. She decorated for dozens of Church Christmas parties and made them special events. Her centerpieces were sold to pay for the dances and there were never enough of them to go around. She could put a flower arrangement together with ease and make 30-40 bows at a time. Carol decorated for many weddings in her extended family and for friends; often again for the next generation.
Carol loved travelling. She often went with Dean on working vacations so that she could have the opportunity to see new places like Italy and Japan. She even hauled the kids to Galveston, Texas for three weeks just to get out of the house.
Carol could be a formidable woman because she knew what she wanted and she said what she meant. Although she could be intimidating with adults, she had a special relationship with many different young people over the years because she was so honest. Many of them still call her mom. One of Carol’s last callings in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was teaching Sunday School to 16 and 17 year-olds.
The last several years have been very hard on Carol. She started getting pneumonia constantly and was diagnosed with COPD. Then she had a series of falls that broke her back, her hips and her ribs. In 2015 Carol had a retinal stroke, called a vein occlusion, that left her legally blind. She had a stroke that left her throat muscles weak which caused aspirational pneumonia. This time the pneumonia was accompanied by a heart attack that just couldn’t be fixed. She lived much longer than anyone expected because she just wasn’t ready to leave. It had to be on her terms.
There will be no funeral services because Carol wanted a Celebration of Life instead. This celebration will be held Saturday, March 18th, 5 to 7pm. We will share food, pictures and videos, and have an open mic for story sharing. It will be held at the LDS Church located at 5980 S. 1300 W. (Canal Road). Please feel free to leave condolences here or on our Facebook pages. If you would like to make a donation in Carol’s name, she was partial to the American Diabetes Association (diabetes.org) and she found refuge in taped books from the Utah Independent Living Center where much comes from donated sources. https://uilc.org/en/resources/utah-disability-organizations/division-of-services-for-the-blind-and-visually-impaired
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