Geraldine “Gerry” Sharon (Goertz) Carroll, age 86, peacefully went home to the Lord on March 12, in Cortez, Colorado, surrounded by her family. Born on February 23, 1939, in Wheatland, Wyoming, she was raised in the nearby town of Chugwater. She met her beloved husband, Jim, at a family wedding, sparking a lifelong love story and 66-year marriage grounded in faith, devotion and shared adventure.
A woman of deep compassion, Gerry earned her RN and later a master’s degree in psychology. She worked as a nurse at Maryvale and Boswell Hospitals in the Phoenix area until rheumatoid arthritis led her to retire early. She then found joy caring for her grandsons after school.
She is lovingly remembered by her husband Jim; daughter Lynn (Lawrence) Barela; son Dale (Dyana) Carroll; grandsons Eric and Christopher (Shannon) Henke; great-grandchildren Jacob and Leona; granddaughter Alise (Travis) Robinson; and great-granddaughter Nellie. She was preceded in death by her parents Henry and Sibyl Goertz and her parents-in-law Fred and Louise Carroll.
Gerry delighted in traveling, SCUBA diving, crocheting snowflakes for family Christmas trees, and helping Lynn care for baby goats. She treasured staying connected with friends near and far.
From her childhood commitment to the Lord at the Baptist Church in Chugwater to becoming the first woman elder at First Presbyterian Church of Cheyenne, she served faithfully. She sang in choirs, prayed fervently as a prayer warrior at Christ Church of Fountain Hills, worked part-time at Fountain Hills Presbyterian Church, attended Bible studies, and found joy critiquing Dale’s seminary papers.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, June 7, 2025, from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. at Fountain Hills Presbyterian Church, 13001 N Fountain Hills Blvd., Fountain Hills, AZ 85268. A gathering will follow at Dale’s home.
Gerry’s favorite reflections on death likened it to a ship sailing toward another shore: as it disappears from view on one horizon – where loved ones wave goodbye – it arrives on another shore where even more are gathered to welcome it joyfully. “Look,” they say with open arms and smiling faces, “Here she comes!”
Gerry’s ashes will be interred at the National Cemetery in Cave Creek, Arizona, where her husband’s ashes will join hers upon his time to go home to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. A Celebration of Life service will be held for Gerry on June 7 at the Fountain Hills Presbyterian Church in Fountain Hills, where they were members.
