Gracious, feisty and strong, Carole Hand Bohnert went to the best place with our God and Savior on December 8, 2011 after a two-year struggle with recurrent breast cancer. She amazed all of us with her willingness to engage and be a full participant in life even in her final days with us. She is survived by Thomas, her husband of 43 years, her sister, Judy Porter, her three children, Amy, Eric and Kurt, and her two grandchildren, Keira and Patrick.

Carole was born on December 12, 1943 in Savannah, GA to Hortense and Joseph Bernard Hand. She lived in many towns across the south before finally settling in Tallahassee, FL where she graduated from Florida High. She went on to attend Florida State University where she met her husband, Tom, a MN native who was a Ph.D. graduate student in chemistry. The two were married on July 6, 1968 in Detroit, MI, where Carole was completing her dietetic internship. They spent the next 12 years in Midland, MI where their three children, Amy, Eric & Kurt, were born.  To spice things up, they moved to Baton Rouge, LA where they developed a taste for Cajun food and culture. In addition to taking care of three busy children, Carole went back to school and earned a masters degree in counseling at LSU. Over the next fifteen years, Carole worked as a therapist and mental health consultant in Michigan and Illinois. Throughout the years, the family enjoyed numerous adventures across the country, including many wonderful trips to New Hampshire in their Ford Econoline van. Their greatest adventure, following Carole's initial diagnosis of breast cancer in 2001, was purchasing a dog boarding and grooming facility in Rochester, NH, that they operated for 10 years. Carole loved animals, and they loved her back. In January of 2011, Carole and Tom moved to Rochester, MN to be closer to their children and grandchildren.

Carole was very creative and had many talents, including knitting, quilting, photography, and scrap-booking. One of her most remarkable gifts was her cooking. Everyone who knew her can conjure up their favorite dishes that she made, but it was her desserts that were unforgettable, especially her cookies. To the world she was one, but to us she was the world, and she will be deeply missed.

To memorialize Carole, in lieu of flowers, her family will coordinate donations to the Mayo Clinic Cancer Research and the Cocheco Valley Humane Society in Dover, NH.

The Funeral Mass will be held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, December 12, 2011 at the Church of the Resurrection, 11th Ave South East, Rochester, MN.  Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church.

Macken Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Online condolences are welcome at www.mackenfuneralhome.com.