Carol Marie Rizzo

Carol Marie Rizzo, of Woodstock, IL, passed away June 26th, 2023. Born February 11, 1941 to George and Muriel “Babe” Gunnufsen in Chicago, IL. On September 30, 1977, she married Randy Rizzo.

Over her 82 years, here on earth she gained many titles. She was a daughter, granddaughter, niece, sister, wife, aunt, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and a friend to all. To have known her was to know the definition of kindness and love.

The children she brought into this world (Linda, John, Doug, Jennie, & Joey) and helped raise (Rick & Rob) are a reflection of her in the most amazing ways. She shared all of the best parts of herself with each of them, celebrated their achievements and marriages, provided comfort in times of sorrow, and was elated with joy by each of her 15 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren. Nothing brought her more happiness than being with her family and spending time catching up. She’d laugh and gasp along with us as we all shared stories in the kitchen and often share her tales of days gone by that we wish we could hear 1,000 times over again.

She was the kind of person you could share everything with and she’d listen. It didn’t matter if you were having the best day of your life, picked a new paint color for your house, or had a new kitchen gadget to tell her about, she was all ears when you had her attention. The rest of the world melted away and those conversations were a time warp filled with love and laughter we will miss forever. Picking up the phone to share the everyday things was always something to her. She was the hub, the center of it all for this family. If you told Mom, rest assured that every other sibling would get to know your good news too! Truthfully, good or bad, we all knew even if we weren’t “supposed” to know, but that was the glue. Her way of sharing news with everyone kept us all close even though we are separated by hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles on a daily basis.

There wasn’t much you could say or do in her presence that would shock her after raising 7 kids, she handled it all with a level of grace, and charm we’ve only ever seen from her. She always had a way of making you leave feeling better than when you arrived. Her life was filled with so much love and laughter it honestly seemed like it would go on forever, and we wish it would have.

She was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her husband, Randy, and their children, Linda (Paul) Yahnke , San Diego, California John (Holly) Aikin , San Diego, California, Doug (Sherri) Aikin , Pine, Colorado,  Jennie Rizzo, Woodstock, Georgia, Joe (Kelli) Rizzo , Woodstock, Illinois, Rick (Mary Ann) Rizzo , Round Lake, Illinois, Robert (Dina) Rizzo, Genoa, Illinois; her sister-in-law Jacqueline (Bob) Osborn, and brother in law Jerry (Lauri) Rizzo; and many cousins, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

A celebration of life will be held Saturday, October 7th at 1:00pm at Grace Lutheran Church, 1300 Kishwaukee Valley Rd., Woodstock, IL 60098. All are welcome.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations to Carol’s favorite pet rescue, The Northwood’s Animal Shelter. You can do so by visiting https://northwoodsanimalshelter.com/donations.htm or by calling 906-265-PETS or by mail at Northwood’s Animal Shelter 930 Selden Road Iron River, Michigan, 49935.

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