Obituary

Carolyn was born in San Diego, CA on May 14, 1951 and was raised by Mack and Nancy Neilson in Anaheim, CA.  Carolyn (Carol) had 2 brothers, Jimmy and Scott and 8 sisters including herself, Kristi, Karalee, Patty, Lori, Tracy, Darlene, and Kristine, 2 sons Sean and Shane, daughter-in-law Tiffany, 2 stepsons John and Michael, and 3 grandchildren, Caitlin, Macie and Ellie. She was blessed and surrounded by love and family to say the least!

Carol met Sean and Shane's father, Stanley in her early 20's while working at the front desk of a Hotel & Nightclub he owned called The King's Table in Los Angeles, where up and coming actors and actresses would debut such as Anita O'Day. Carol had an Italian boyfriend at the time, but Stan wasn't having it and managed to get rid of him. Soon after they were married and traveling around the world together to Greece, Europe, Paris and more... After visiting everywhere they could think of they settled down in Villa Park, and focused on creating a real estate empire and were a team.  Stan was the YES man and Carol always had to take him down a notch and together, the two were a dynamic force!

While Carol was originally Catholic, Stan was Greek Orthodox, and Carol wished to raise the family in the faith, therefore she converted to Orthodox in the late 70's. Carol and Stan helped build the new St. Paul's Greek Orthodox parish and made a very generous contribution to see the effort through. They eventually expanded their family, having two beautiful children, Sean and Shane. Carol and her family continued to thrive and live a vibrant life, her family was known to have an 'open door policy' and throw big, lavish parties. Carol was both loving and stern with her children. As time went on the family faced challenges and eventually Stan became ill and passed suddenly of ALS while the boys were ages 12 and 16.  Carol never remarried and was a one man "as in Stan" woman. Alone with two boys, Carol rolled up her sleeves and became their sole provider, entering the work-force full-time in careers including The Pottery Shack, Laguna Beach and the medical operations field working at OneCall Medical as a Sales Coordinator for 10 years.

During this time, she also stepped up to the plate and took in two more young children who she saw in need from her late sister Patty's family, Melissa and Carly who were Patty's grandchildren. Carolyn always had a can do attitude and nothing could stop her once she said she was doing it. She did everything exceptionally well and was meticulous, leaving little room for error.  She taught her boys to not be one of the best, but "Be the Best" at whatever you do and that has been their family motto. To stand proud and stand strong and always have a big heart with integrity and dignity. Carol sent Sean to live on their cousin's The Scheffer's ranch up in Washington where he lived for two years and took care of 50 beef cattle; Shane she kept busy in Drama and Acting classes and pursuing whatever his latest passion, even to make music.

When Carol began facing health issues at 59, her sons stepped up to the plate, just as she had taught them. They moved her into a beautiful Newport Beach condo and allowed her to enjoy retirement close to loved ones. As Sean would say, "it is all love and you can never repay your mother." From that moment on, Sean and his wife, Tiffany, began overseeing Carol's medical needs.  Sean once took a trip out to Florida telling his mother "they were taking a vacation" but really it was to have her seen by world renowned author and doctor, Dr. Perlmutter, a guest on the Dr. Oz Show, and wrote the book The Grain Brain and had him assess her memory to manage her having early onset dementia.

Thankfully, her memory stayed strong, she always remembered everyone and everything, and was able to babysit her grandchildren when Sean and Tiffany wanted a night out! With the help of Shane, they kept Carol close to their homes (Shane lived 100 yards away across the street), and always kept the promise to keep here in her own home and never put her in a senior living or nursing home. Her life was exciting and full of time with family -- outings in limos wine tasting, boating, trips, dinners, parties -- Sean and Shane brought their mother along with them.  Carol's daughter-in-law Tiffany escorted Carol to medical appointments followed by lunch and getting their nails and hair done; Shane's girlfriend, Ebony, created fun lunches and dinners at home making her favorite Greek Meals such as Pastitsio with homemade pasta and dolmas.

Carol and with her witty personality, humor and gentle touch was loved by anyone she encountered, and similarly she loved anyone she encountered and would always encourage people with her positivity. Including every nurse and doctor in the hospital over the last month, she had them rolling with laughter. When Sean and Shane would tell her they loved her, her response was always, I loved you first.

Carol was classy, led by example and felt her purpose and calling in life was to the best mother she could, loved the beach, loved Coca Cola Classic (she would buy it by the case); her favorite song was White Room by Cream, No Rain by Blind Melon, and she loved going boating with her family in Newport Harbor.

Every time something good or bad would come about in life, Carol would tell her boys to look up and thank or ask God for what needs to be done. Wise words that saw her sons through the recent sudden demise of her health.  Her faith in the lord Jesus Christ was evident when Sean & Shane requested the Priest from St. Paul's go see her at Hoag Hospital to reminded she was on her way to Heaven and there was no need to be scared. By her bedside, Sean noticed recently that Carol had a stack of notebooks next to her bed and every page had written scriptures from the bible in them. Carol knew how important her faith was and Sean and Shane were proud of her and to see that gives them and their families comfort and peace knowing their mother is with the lord and savior Jesus Christ.

Carol left this world peacefully on May 24, 2023, surrounded by Sean, Shane and loved ones, comforted by her family and friends at her final moment. While she is deeply missed, her spirit, sense of humor and countless memories will forever live on and accompany us with great joy.