Carolyn Goodman

Ever inquisitive and curious, nature and outdoor enthusiast, sincere friend, leader, mama. Earthy and endearing, Carolyn Goodman began her mortal adventures on November 17, 1961. She grew up in Provo, Utah. As a young adult, she began college and worked at a bakery, the latter of which would bring smiles to many a face as she became known for her warm homemade bread and cinnamon rolls. 

In 1981, she married Michael Goodman in the Oakland, California temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They moved to California where she worked and gave birth to the first half of her children. They moved back to Utah in 1989. In 1990, she moved to Salem where she gave birth to the second half of her children. In 2007, her first marriage ended with a divorce. In 2019, she married Brian Sullivan in the Hare Krishna temple. They lived in Salem until Carolyn left this world. 

The life lessons she taught her children were duly remembered: Have a buddy system when you hike, and sing loud if you think you have a bear friend on the night trail with you. If you are about to insult someone, do it nicely. Play in the dirt. Find magic and fairies in the everyday. You are a fantastic soul, and–most likely–so is the person next to you. Be kind, most people are figuring out their own battles. 

The pathway she forged was one of her own making. She sought understanding and growth. Talented and clever, she succeeded in many walks and professions in life. She made many friends and had a wide variety of experiences and stories from working in a bakery, managing a storage unit, working at the elementary school, the health food store, callings and church events, the Lakota tribe, reiki and other healing modalities and meditation, family drama and more. She saw life through a lens of magic and hope. 

She loved living near so many of her siblings, meeting up or chatting on zoom, messaging in the siblings group chat, and taking walks (and drives) around Utah lake. 

She loved to celebrate people’s successes. She’d grieve with their hardships. Art and painting were a joy to her. She loved paint by numbers and her own freestyle. She was always known to be in the garden! Working in the earth, planting, weeding, and swinging in her yard brought her abundant joy, but her true love was the woods. She was known for conversing with trees, spotting elves as she trekked through the mountain trails, and singing in the sunshine. She started a birthday hike tradition where she’d celebrate life by hiking with family and friends on the day hers started. She respected and loved wildlife, watching deer in her yard, and cultivating a work of flora around her. 

If there was anything she loved more than being outdoors, it was her children, their spouses, and her grandkids. She was grateful for recent technology that made it so easy to connect with them and participate in their lives. She loved video calls, phone calls, streamed events, emails, and texts with her family around the country. She celebrated their achievements and shared in their struggles. She treasured conversations and text threads, about anything that was important or interesting to her family, sending emojis and pictures, and sharing her love in the unique way that only she could. 

She was a great advocate and sought to help or stop suffering wherever she could. She was brave and strong. 

She was twinkled the morning of November 13, 2024, leaving behind her body to give those of us grieving her loss an opportunity for closure. To celebrate and honor her life, her viewing and funeral services will be held on November 23, 2024 at 12:00pm at 470 E. Salem Canal Rd, Salem, Ut. 84653. 

Following the services her body will be cremated and ashes returned to Mother Earth. 

Mama you will be missed. Your optimism will continue in those your life impacted. You saw more in people than they saw in themselves. 

Look to the moon, look to the stars, Feel the wind and breeze wherever you are. 

Love from a mama, a sister, a friend, love like that just doesn’t end. It wraps around you like the wind through the leaves. 

It fills you with warmth as the pine needles underneath. The call to be whatever you are, 

Not perfect, just you, That is enough. No matter if she’s close or far.

For historical purposes: Children include Allie Goodman, Zeke Goodman, Nate Goodman, Michael and Julia Goodman, Tressa and Andrew Putnam, Amanda and Josh Hansen, Jonathan and Sara Goodman, Leia and Jake Low, Crystal and Damon Leishman, Ralph Goodman, Carla and Jonathon Jansen and 25 grandchildren. 

In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to https://venmo.com/u/Jonathan-Goodman-3