Obituary of Carol Ann Woods

Carol Ann Woods began her life’s journey on April 19th, 1944, in Charlotte, NC. She was the oldest daughter of two children born to Marion(Footsie) Russell Woods and Laura Ann (Culp) Woods. Her family moved to Greenville, SC where she grew up. Her father played football for her beloved Clemson Tigers. When Carol was 14 the family moved back to Charlotte where she graduated from Harding High School in 1962. After high school she worked at Iveys department store(interesting fact: Billy Graham’s son Franklin was her boss), and after that the Credit Bureau. A friend of her’s there set her up on a blind date, and she met her husband-to-be Jerry Wilson. They were married and moved to Fort Lauderdale, FL, where Carol had 2 daughters and a son. Eventually(10 yrs later) the family moved back to Charlotte, after a few months in Texas to help out her badly injured brother. She became a Phlebotomist at Carolinas Medical Center and worked there many years. Carol enjoyed cooking delicious meals for her family, and often welcomed her kid’s friends for dinner or snacks.She was a “neighborhood Mom” and all the kids loved her. Music was one of her passions and she played albums(mostly Rock or soundtracks) all the time, and attended concerts sometimes. She also was a leader of the Explorer youth group her children joined, and they went camping and hiking in the mountains. In 1988 Carol got divorced and moved into a condo with her grown children, and 5 years later she was able to buy a home with her daughter and son-in-law(she worked a lot of overtime at the hospital to help get that down payment!). They lived together there for 30 years. Carol loved to watch football, especially the Clemson Tigers; but she also loved the Carolina Panthers. Her favorite thing to do was visiting her grandchildren and great grandchildren. We always said “she has the gift of gab” because she loved to socialize and people enjoyed talking to her. She departed this world Tuesday, August 8th, 2023, at Atrium Health Pineville, after a sudden unexpected illness. She is preceded in death by her parents and her younger brother Rusty. She is survived by her daughter Margaret Eller (James), N. Wilksboro NC; daughter JoAnn Johnson (Joe), Charlotte NC; son Jerry Wilson (Becky), Mooresville NC; Grandchildren– Heatherly Wilson; Zoey Wilson; Great-grandchildren– Sophie Wilson; Zayda Wilson; Carter Wilson Services are private. Online condolences may be made at www.HankinsandWhittington.com.