Carol Ann Stanwood Otten

Carol Ann Otten, aged 71, went home to be with the Lord on January 27,2017,
after brief battle with cancer. Carol was born August 8, 1945 in Jersey City, NJ,
the daughter of George and Bernice Stanwood.
In 1972, Carol married William Frederick Otten. After they married, Carol
and Bill moved to Secaucus, NJ, where they would start their family and reside
until 1989.
In addition to raising their two sons, she was an amazing woman and a driven
professional. During many periods when her children were young, Carol had
to balance raising her sons with a full-time job, while her husband dealt with
extensive job travel for several years.
Having grown up in such a close-knit family, it was no surprise that when Carol
found out in 1989 that her parents and sister were moving to Florida, she and
Bill decided to relocate their family there as well. So it was a new start for her
and her family in January 1990 in Boynton Beach, FL.
Carol took her accounting/bookkeeping skills to Office Depot's corporate
headquarters in Delray Beach, FL where hard work and long hours earned her
several promotions in a short period of time, the last of which culminated in
being named to Head of Cash Management for the entire company. While she
enjoyed the professional success she had achieved, Carol always managed to
keep a healthy balance between work and family.
Carol became a grandmother for the first time in 2005 when Matthew and his
wife Carrie gave birth to their first son, Connor, followed by two more grand-
sons, Leith and Bannon.
Matthew and Carrie moved to Clayton, North Carolina at the end of 2005 and
Chris later followed them. Carol decided that South Florida was no longer
where her heart was, so she packed up one last time and landed in Clayton
herself in 2011.
After moving to North Carolina, Carol wasted no time getting involved at
church where she volunteered her time to several ministries: Emergency
Family Assistance, where she counted money that the church received from
offerings and donations, Food Pantry, and By Our Hands Ministry. Carol also
volunteered her time at Johnston Memorial Hospital in Clayton, where she
donated blankets she knitted as well as hats for newborns.
Carol is survived by her sons Christian and his wife Stephanie Otten; Matthew
his wife Carrie and their three children Connor, Leith, and Bannon Otten; her
brother Robert and wife Lori Stanwood; her sister Bernice and husband Craig
Marrone; and a number of other relatives and close family and friends.