Mrs. Carole Abernathy, 83, of Maple Valley, Washington passed away on December 26, 2025.

Carole Elaine Hutmacher was born July 3, 1942 in rural Buele county, South Dakota. She was the middle child between two brothers Dennis and Bill. The family moved to a farm near Gann Valley, South Dakota when she was a small child. She graduated from Gann Valley high school in 1960 and married Lawrence Keith (Jim) Abernathy in 1962. They raised two daughters, Dawn and Lisa.

Carole loved children and worked in public school administration offices in all the towns in Montana, Idaho, and Oregon which they lived in, while Jim pursued his Forest Service career. She worked for a Fire Department when they moved to Portland, Oregon, and then an insurance agent. She continued working for that agent remotely when they moved to Federal Way, Washington to be close to family, which she continued for 14 more years.

Throughout her life, Carole was known for her strong work ethic and deep commitment to family and community. She enjoyed crafts, gardening, baking, and volunteering at local events, always eager to lend a helping hand to friends and neighbors. She joined Kiwanis and was able to continue improving children’s lives through the bringing up grades (“BUGS”) program. We will miss her greatly. She is survived by her husband Jim of 63 years of marriage, two daughters Dawn (John) and Lisa (Rich deceased), two brothers Dennis (Connie deceased), Bill (Jean) , three grandchildren (Cassie, Bryce, Sierra) and 4 great grandchildren (Logan, Aubrey, Ryland, EmmaLynn). She was preceded in death of her parents Ruben and Florance Hutmacher. There will be a celebration of life at 1pm on January 24th at Marine View Presbyterian in Tacoma, Washington. 

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