Carol Lee (LaFavor) Brunholzl of Rochester, MN, passed away peacefully on May 12, 2026, at Gundersen St. Elizabeth's Care Center in Wabasha, MN. She was 93.

Carol was born in Rochester on December 13, 1932, to William and Molly LaFavor. She was the last of five children and lived her entire childhood in a house on 5th Avenue SE. Following her 1950 graduation from Rochester High School (now John Marshall), Carol attended the University of Minnesota until 1952. On January 10, 1953, she married Anton "Tony" Brunholzl, who was in the U.S. Air Force. After their wedding at St. Francis Catholic Church, the couple lived in Mobile, AL, until her husband completed his military service. They then moved back to Rochester, where their three children were born. They moved to their home on 60th Avenue SW in 1967, which they built, and where Carol lived until August 2021.

In 1971, Carol resumed college and completed her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education at Winona State University. She taught for several years in the Rochester School District at Bamber Valley Elementary and other schools, before returning to Winona State, where she earned a Master of Arts in English as Second Language (ESL).

From that point on, Carol's teaching focused on providing immigrant students at the elementary and junior-high level with English language and reading instruction. This was a perfect fit for Carol's natural interest in other places, people, and cultures. She loved to travel and did so extensively, often combining it with her lifelong love of learning by attending several Elderhostel programs (now Road Scholar). Carol was a natural friend, carer, and advocate for people, and she worked with several local organizations to fulfill the needs of the families of her students and other groups in Rochester.

After retiring from teaching in the late 1990s, Carol became active in the Southeast Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers (SEMNAP), attending meetings, planning educational events, and participating in local demonstrations to advance a greater understanding of the injustices suffered by minority groups, including the Palestinian cause.

Throughout her life, Carol devoted much of her time to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. With her inquisitiveness and creativity, she played with them when they were small, supported their education and dreams every step of the way, and was always there with toys, a hug, questions, and laughter. She and her husband Tony were able to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in 2003, before he passed the following year from lung cancer.

Together, they enjoyed their home surrounded by woods, pets, birds, and wildlife, and they maintained two large vegetable and flower gardens, which Carol continued until she was 87.

Carol was preceded in death by her parents, three of her siblings, and her husband, Anton Martin Brunholzl. She is survived by her sister, Jeanne (LaFavor) Dabbagh of Sacramento, CA; her children: Barbara (Brunholzl) Gilbertson (Dale) of Wabasha, MN, Carl Brunholzl (Karen) of River Falls, WI, Andrea Brunholzl (Sean Friesen) of Long Beach, CA; her grandchildren: Andrew Gilbertson (Jordan) of River Falls, WI, Jeffrey Gilbertson (Lauren) of Maple Plain, MN, Jennifer (Gilbertson) Carlson (Eric) of Wabasha, MN, Wyatt Brunholzl of Hudson, WI, Sidney (Brunholzl) Hougom (Cody) of Onalaska, WI, Jett Friesen of Long Beach, CA, and nine great-grandchildren.

A visitation will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, June 15, 2026, at Christ United Methodist Church. The Memorial Service will be at 11:45 a.m. followed by a reception all at Christ United Methodist Church in Rochester. All are welcome.