Carol Ann Brosowske

Carol Ann Commons Brosowske, age 63 of Plano, Texas passed away on January 7, 2017 at her home under hospice care after being diagnosed days earlier with lung cancer that had spread to her liver. She was born January 26, 1953 to parents Edward Milton and Margaret Commons in Pampa, Texas. Carol was through and through a West Texas girl, born in Pampa, lived in Borger, Midland, and Amarillo through her junior year in high school; then moved to Ballwin, Missouri and later, Park Forest South, Illinois. She met her husband while employed in downtown Chicago - an office romance at a CPA firm. After their wedding in 1974, Carol worked on Yankee Jim to get her down to Texas from Chicago as fast as she could and they finally got moved in 1977. Carol and Jim have lived in Plano for over 39 years and in the same house for almost 31 years. Carol wanted to be a stay-at-home mom and was blessed with three wonderful children. She was a caring, loving mother and made a great home for her family. When her kids grew up, she worked at Carpenter Middle School and Clark High School, and especially loved working at Special Programs in the Plano school district, working with students that were challenged with special issues. Carol was very active in other areas - she loved her dogs and was an active member of the South Central Giant Schnauzer Club. She helped organize a quilting group, Sew Together, that has been meeting every Thursday for 21 years. She bowled with Jim in league bowling on Wednesday nights for over 30 years. She had her Monday night coffee group that met at a local restaurant every Monday night. She went on quilting retreats - the girls had a ball - go to their country retreat, put on their jams, and cover the place in quilting fabric, sewing machines, food and drink, and spend hours working, and talking, and laughing into the night - Carol called it therapy. One day, she was sitting on the patio at home having a cup of coffee, and her daddy in heaven reminded her that her passion had always been writing. So, she got busy - was published many times in Chicken Soup for the Soul and Not Your Mother's Books. She became a columnist for Frank Talk, and, more recently, had produced blogs for Texas Hill Country magazine and God's Web and was preparing to produce blogs themed on Texas in the 50's and 60's - it was scheduled to begin this month. She was featured in the February 2014 issue of the Plano Profile magazine. She, and her granddaughter, Olivia Grace, have been active members in Keepsake Writing, the Thursday morning church writing group. Her biggest heartache was the loss of her 4-month old Olivia Grace just six weeks before her own death. Carol was always cheerful and full of joy and love - she lit up the room with her smile and her humor. She loved bling, the color red, and animal print clothing. She has never been accused of being bland in any way. She was a straight-shooter and a true friend - never a doubt about Carols' opinion on anything. She had so many friends and so many readers of both her stories and her Facebook postings. But, most of all, she was the best wife, the best mother, the best daughter, the best sister, the best Grammy, and the best friend. To know Carol was to love her. Carol is survived by her loving husband, Jim Brosowske; her children, Maggie Brosowske and Cortney Tepera; Matt Brosowske and his wife, Brittany; Jeff Brosowske and his wife, Haley, and their daughters, Elisa and Emberlyn; mother, Margaret Commons, brother, Ed Commons and his wife, Marilyn. She is also survived by her many friends and readers. Carol is preceded in death by her father Milton Commons and her granddaughter Olivia Grace Brosowske. A memorial service will be held to celebrate Carol's life on Saturday, January 14, 2017 at 10:30 am at Custer Road United Methodist Church, 6601 Custer Road, Plano, Texas. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made as a remembrance of Carol at Hope's Door (http://www.hopesdoorinc.org) in Plano or the American SIDS Institute (http://sids.org).