From The Staff
Auntie Mame, Nora Charles, Rosie Thayer & Gramma Carol
By David Marin & The CruZin' Staff
As a youngster I spent quite a bit of time with Readers Digest, enjoying the humor, the stories and the jokes. I especially enjoyed the stories about “The Most Unforgettable Person I Ever Met”. And I’d wonder, who would I choose as the subject of such a story? I mean, Rosalind Russell as the free-spirited Auntie Mame, she of the razor sharp silver tongue gliding across the movie screen, a beautiful picture of confidence and poise. Or, Myrna Loy as Nora Charles, or Mrs. Thin Man, opposite William Powell, her’s, the only wit that could bring him to his knees. And, of course, Katharine Hepburn as Rosie Thayer in the African Queen, taming, reforming, falling in love with and saving Charlie Allnut (Humphrey Bogart). Yes, meeting any of those screen characters would certainly be unforgettable.

Then, about 20 years ago I met Carol Lorensen, or Gramma Carol as she came to be called. Gramma Carol was as kind a person as I’ve known, but I didn’t know that at the time. I walked into her home and into her life having married her daughter Jeanne just hours earlier. She greeted me with a smile, a hug and hospitality most would reserve for an old friend. I would soon learn that Carol was just that way.

Carol had no affinity for old iron and she admonished me more than once, saying, “A car is just transportation, nothing more nothing less.” Then she’d flash me that gorgeous smile and remind me to give her a stack of back issues so she could promote the magazine. Part of her self-assigned duties as an industry advisor she said.

Through the years Carol and her husband Bob would come to Washington or we’d visit them in Eureka, California, and we’d rendezvous at a family reunion every year or two. All those visits and I never saw Carol without a smile.

The closest I ever saw Carol get to anger was in the middle of my living room. I was observing as Carol, Jeanne, Bob and a family friend were playing duplicate bridge. One in the group made an incorrect play and Carol attacked as if all the marbles were on the table. Definitely a competitive spirit there that I’d not seen before. I told her that if she were a gearhead we’d have to put her in a Barracuda.

Duplicate bridge, romance novels, family, friends and the happiness of others were the priority in the life of Carol Lorensen. Too, she loved to travel and after retiring in 1991 she and Bob put on their traveling clothes and visited 62 foreign countries.

Upon returning from her last trip abroad Carol didn’t feel quite right. I talked with her on the phone and she wasn’t up to snuff. Six months later she was gone.

Gramma Carol was the best. She was a wonderful mother to Jeanne and her son Steve. She was a fabulous Gramma Carol to her granddaughters Jessica and Kailee. I’m certain she’s in a good place and, between hands of duplicate bridge, she’s keeping an eye on us all. She is my “Most Unforgettable” story. Goodbye Gramma Carol, we love you.

Our thanks to all who sent cards and letters.