Carol Ann Kirby, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend, passed away peacefully on September 24, 2025, at the age of 72, at La Conner Retirement Inn with her husband by her side.   

   Carol was born in New York, New York on May 16, 1953, and resided there, as well as Detroit, Michigan and Reading, Pennsylvania throughout her childhood and adolescent years. In the early 1970s, Carol made the trek to Ashland, Oregon where she attended Southern Oregon College for two years before moving to Eugene, OR where she attended the University of Oregon and obtained her bachelor's degree in microbiology.   

   While in Eugene, Carol met her first husband Craig Alan Kirby, and together they moved to Anacortes, WA when Carol had received a job offer from Island Hospital to work as a lab technician being the lead microbiologist. Carol worked at Island Hospital for twenty-eight years and found a genuine purpose and passion within her field.   

   Throughout their years together, Carol and Craig enjoyed a comfortably quiet life together, filled with both classic and hand-strung music, time spent with her little brother, Bob, and best friend (Bob's wife) Ann, along with their well-adored cats and dogs. In 1993, they adopted and welcomed a baby girl, Caitlin Rae, into their hearts and world. They embarked on the journey of parenthood together for three years until December 1996 when Craig passed away.   

   Carol continued raising an exuberant Caitlin throughout her childhood, coordinating her perfectly themed birthday parties, supporting her several-genres-worth of dance class endeavors and taking her on numerous trips back east to spend time with her father and his extended family in Pennsylvania. Along with work and motherhood, Carol served as primary caregiver to her mother, Amy, for roughly seven years until her passing in 2005. Amy and Carol, both members of the Anacortes Lutheran Church, were both once Altos in the church's choir.   

   A new love story came to be when Carol met Douglas Thompson, of La Conner, Washington in 2003 while awaiting their children's (his son, Ryan, and her daughter, Caitlin) school bus return from a field trip to Mountain School at Fidalgo Elementary. Carol and Doug quickly fell in love and married in 2005, becoming a blended family. They purchased a family home together in the Fir Crest development of Anacortes, where they enjoyed the trails of Little Cranberry Lake, more treasured animals, and of course, their two children and their endeavors.   

   Shortly after they became empty nesters, Carol spotted her dream home in La Conner, Washington, a beachside cottage, where they lived together for the bulk of their remaining years together. A dream made true. Sadly, Carol was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease in 2015. Carol's last two years with the disease, especially, progressed rather quickly. But Doug remained a devoted and doting husband, as well as caregiver during every stage, until the very end. Doug and Carol enjoyed together their animals and the nature that surrounded them, many La Conner local dinner and wine dates, gardening and doing yard work together, and humoring one another often. Their love was filled with lightness and lots of laughter.   

   Carol's life was not without hardship but was sincerely one of great love. Carol dearly loved her husband, children, close family friends, all types of animals, a hot cup of tea and (formerly) Diet coke, an after-work viewing of the Oprah show, Father Brown, and her local news channel, cozy knit sweaters, little white work clogs, and her signature Jody Coyote earrings. She will be remembered for her soft-spoken, gentle, and kind spirit, her careful listening ear, her hearty laughter over her family's jokes, and the tender way she loved and cared for others.   

   She is preceded in death by her father, Richard Noble, mother, Amy Rey Milliard, and brother, Bob Noble. She is survived by her husband, Douglas Thompson, of La Conner, Washington, their son, Ryan Thompson, of Corvallis, Oregon, their daughter, Caitlin Kirby, Caitlin's husband Taylor, and granddaughter Audrey, of Hampton, Virginia, her late brother Bob's, wife, Ann and family, of Eugene, Oregon, and her two dogs Toby and Harley. Her legacy lives on through the local nature that surrounds their home, the music she enjoyed, the sincere love she gave, and the lives that she touched.   

   A Memorial Service will be held at the Anacortes Lutheran Church on December 13, 2025, at 2:00 pm. A separate public Celebration of Life will be held at a date and location to be determined. Details will be updated on her memorial site at Evans:  www.evanschapel.com/obituary/carol-kirby    

   Donations may be made in name to  Island Health Foundation  ,  the Cat's Meow in Anacortes  , the  Humane Society of Skagit Valley  ,  Compassion International  , or Carol's alma mater, the  University of Oregon   Art Department  [Contact US page.]