Carolyn Sue Smith Gottfried
CHANUTE – Carolyn Sue Smith Gottfried was born October 22, 1959, in Chanute, Kansas. She died peacefully in her sleep on May 5, 2023, at the Good Samaritan Society in Loveland, Colorado. Her parents were Richard and Emmajean Smith. Richard was a State Trooper, and Emmajean was a nurse at the Neosho County Hospital where Carolyn was born.
She grew up in Chanute and later Wichita, Kansas, before moving to Cincinnati, Ohio where she attended grade school. In 1972 the family moved to Roselle, Illinois, where Carolyn attended Lake Park High School, graduating in 1978. She became a travel agent in the Chicago area until taking a job with Zurich American Insurance Company in Shamburg, Illinois.
Carolyn married Walter Gottfried in 1987. She was blessed with two sons, Grant and Scott, who were her life’ s greatest joy. After her divorce, she spent time with her sister Barbara in Elgin, Illinois. She later moved back to Tipton, Kansas to be near her dad, brothers Fred and Curt, and sister Dorothy. She lived for a short time in Beloit, Kansas, where she was an Insurance Advisor at the Mitchell County Hospital. She spent her final years in Estes Park, Colorado, where she worked for Estes Park Health. There she enjoyed the incredible beauty of the mountains and the everpresent wildlife, often sending family and friends photographs of elk, deer, and bears taken from her window.
Carolyn was a kind and gentle being who found great solace and joy in her Christian faith. She never wavered in her devotion as she fought cancer in her brain and underwent two surgeries. Yet, she was a stalwart in strength and piety, a trait she learned from her mother, who endured similar infirmity.
Carolyn was known for her warm, infectious, and sincere hugs. She was a joyful old soul with a zest for life. She was preceded in death by her mother, Emmajean, in 2016. She is survived by her two sons, Grant (fiancé Kaytlin) and Scott of Phoenix, Arizona; her father, Richard Smith of Tipton; brothers Alfred (Vali) and Curt (Delia) of Tipton, Kansas; sister Barbara Sexton (Greg) of Elgin Illinois; brother George (Terry) of Bellbrook, Ohio; and sister Dorothy Katsiyiannis of Estes Park, Colorado, and numerous nieces and nephews.
A memorial service is scheduled for May 21, 2023, at 2:00 pm at The Rocky Mountain Church in Estes Park, Colorado, with a reception to follow. Memorials may be made to Pathways Hospice of Northern Colorado.
