Carol Marie Dolan

Carol Williams Dolan passed away peacefully on October 22, 2024 in Oklahoma City, where she lived and raised her family. She was 89 years old.

Carol was born on June 21, 1935, in Philadelphia, PA to Roy and Bonnie Williams. She grew up at Shady Brook farm in Philadelphia and spent her summers on the New Jersey shore, and, among her many wonderful experiences, was being taught to dive by Grace Kelly, the future actress and Princess of Monaco.

After graduating from Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School, Carol attended St. Mary's College in South Bend, IN. It was at St. Mary's where she met a Notre Dame student named Bob Dolan with whom she fell in love and married on September 8, 1956. He was the love of her life and they were married for over 65 years, before his death in 2022. Together they raised seven children, a menagerie of dogs, cats, hamsters, fish, parakeets, and a duck. Carol was a devout Roman Catholic. Through her strong faith, she saw the dignity and worth of every person, values she passed on to her children.

In addition to raising her family, Carol was active in and served on the board of the Oklahoma Faith Network (formerly the Oklahoma Council of Churches), to which she was appointed by the then Archbishop of Oklahoma City. She also served as a docent at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, was a member of the Society of St. Vincent DePaul, and participated in other volunteer activities.

Carol traveled extensively around the world with her husband. She and Bob were in one of the first groups of Western tourists to visit mainland China following normalization of relations and were on a plane escorted by fighter jets into Athens, Greece airport following a coup. Not every trip had unexpected surprises, but they were all fun, including a trip to Ireland to attend a University of Notre Dame football game. Her last trip was to Paris with her husband, where they dined atop the Eiffel Tower. She relished every experience.

In addition to traveling, volunteering and driving her seven kids around to various school and sports activities, she was an avid tennis player, loved spending time with friends, especially her "Girls Lunches", and most of all, fussing over her twelve grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Carol is survived by five of her seven children: Robert, Jr. (Chris) of Washington, DC, John (Dee Ann) of Oklahoma City, Judi McAllister of Elkridge, MD, Michelle (Jim) Cannan of Downers Grove, IL, and Dyann Godown (Chris) of Washington, DC, twelve grandchildren, and one great-grandchild as well as four sisters, Judi, Jane, Lynne, and Wendi, two brothers Roy and Dennis, sisters-and brothers-in law, and many nieces and nephews. In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her two sons Kevin and Timothy, her son-in-law Glen McAllister, and her sister-in-law Joy Williams.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Monday, October 28, 2024 at 10:00am at Christ the King Catholic Church, 8005 Dorset Dr, Oklahoma City, OK.