Carol Jean Myers, 85, of Edwardsville, Illinois, passed away peacefully at home on July 7, 2026. She is preceded in death by her beloved husband, David; her parents, Ray and Maude Buzzard; and all of her siblings: Luella Rubin, Rothell Buzzard, Eileen Haslett, Eyvonne Brown, Leora Corley, and Judy Wollet. She is survived by her three sons: Kevin (Mary), Alan (Cheryl), and Stephen (Pete). She was a loving grandmother to Adam, Jake (Tricia), Mollie, Elaine (Nic), and August, and great-grandmother to Lydia, Heidi, and Wes.

One of six children, Carol was born in Avena Township, near St. Elmo, Illinois, on February 17, 1941, where she grew up on her family farm. Carol went on to earn two degrees from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and enjoyed a career as an educator.

Carol met her future husband, David Myers, at church camp during high school, and both were active in the SIU Wesley Foundation during college. After they married, David became a United Methodist minister, and they made their home where David served as a pastor – in Texas, New Jersey, and throughout Southern Illinois, where they raised their boys. After David died in 2004, Carol moved to their dream retirement home in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. In later years, she relocated to Chesterfield, Missouri, and then Edwardsville to be close to her family.

Carol loved teaching, including over forty years of middle school, high school, college and university instruction. She taught home economics, early childhood development, and food sanitation; and in recent years, she was the water aerobics instructor in her condominium neighborhood. She was a member of Alpha Delta Kappa Teachers Sorority.

Active in the church, Carol was a spiritual leader of bible study groups, Sunday school classes, and United Methodist Women, in addition to volunteering at the Echo Free Clinic, in Eureka Springs.

Carol was a musician and shared her love of music with family and friends. She especially enjoyed teaching and watching her children and grandchildren play musical instruments. Carol played the piano, clarinet, recorders, and handbells in numerous groups over the years and frequented performances by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Opera Theater of St. Louis.

Carol expressed love and gratitude through cooking, whether it was for a family or church potluck, entertaining friends at home, hosting a Christmas Open House, or over the gas stove in the camper. She blessed us with delicious meals and our favorite treats, including her amazing pies and monster cookies for the grandkids.Sewing and quilting were other passions of Carol’s and often kept her busy into the early morning hours. She loved to sew and quilt with her friends, siblings, and her granddaughters, and she designed and created over 50 quilts in her lifetime. Her quilts were another way she expressed love. If you were one of the lucky recipients of one of her quilts, that gift is made more precious today as we remember and recall how truly selfless and remarkable she was as an artist and as a human being.

Some of Carol’s most cherished times were spent with family. She loved visiting with her sons, siblings, and their families. She also enjoyed being with her extended family - her nieces, nephews, and their children – at gatherings and reunions.

We all need hopeful people in our lives who love us unconditionally, who guide us to help us be who we were meant to be, and who show us the way of Christ. We are grateful for the life of our friend, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother – who loved us, was loved by us, and was until the end ever grateful. Each day of her life, Carol made a return of God’s love by being love, using her gifts and talents, and being grateful.

A memorial gathering will be held at St. John’s United Methodist Church, 7372 Marine Road in Edwardsville, on Monday, July 27th. Visitation will begin at 10:00 AM, followed by a funeral service at 11:00 AM, with Pastor Grant Armstrong officiating, and a luncheon at St. John’s, following the services. A family burial will take place in St. Elmo, where Carol will be laid to rest next to David and her parents.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Preachers’ Aid Society & Benefit Fund of the Illinois Great Rivers Conference of the United Methodist Church, PO Box 19207, Springfield, IL 62974. 

The family is being served by Herr Funeral Home, 501 W. Main Street, Collinsville, IL, 62234.