Carol J Tesar

Obituaries are such interesting things. We try to sum up a person’s life in a paragraph then post it next to the birth announcements as a stark homage to the circle of life. In our family, reading the obituaries has been a morning ritual through the generations, often followed by the light hearted comment “Didn’t see myself today, so I must still be alive.” As this was Carol’s routine, we hope she is sipping her coffee and peacefully content to see her name and story appear here. As a unique and special person, her final life’s “paragraph” should be the same, so grab a hot cup of ‘joe and settle in. Carol Jean Tesar (nee Karasek) was born on July 14, 1948, in Madison, WI, to Leo and Dorothy (Van der Geest) Karasek. She was the oldest of seven kids who all grew up in a 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom house on Coolidge Street on the East side of Madison. She attended grade school at St. Bernard Parish followed by high school at East High, where she graduated in the class of ’66. After high school Carol attended (the formerly named) MATC graduating in 1967 with a certificate as a Medical Assistant. She went on to work at several doctors offices in Madison, Minneapolis, and Kansas City before landing back in Madison at the office of Drs. Duffy, Gootjes, and Gothier. This office of coworkers became like family and she continued to maintain friendships with many of them throughout her adult years. Carol transitioned out of her role as a Medical Assistant in 1981 beginning work at WEA Insurance Trust, where she worked in a variety of roles for 31 years until retiring in 2012. Again, creating and maintaining significant friendships with so many of her coworkers along the way. In retirement Carol volunteered at Agrace Thrift Store in Janesville, WI, for the past five years. She often talked about it being her favorite job and was heartbroken when she became too sick to continue working there. Another major transition in her life happened in 1981. On February 14th she married Patrick Tesar at the (now closed) Fess Hotel in Madison, WI. In marrying Pat, Carol also married into a union with his two kids, Alyssa and Sean, and made their home in Oregon, WI. The early years of family blending were not always pretty, but she embraced them as a mother would in every way beyond biology. Carol and Pat celebrated 38 years of marriage this past Valentine’s Day. Many who know Carol and Pat know of their passion (or obsession) with dachshunds. This all started with the first dachshund Carol owned, named Heidi. When Carol joined the Tesar family, her beloved Heidi was part of the package. Heidi was the great unifier during those first trying years and lived to a ripe old age of 16. What happened next was an explosion of more wiener dogs, followed by foray into breeding and competing in field trials. Upon building their current home outside of Edgerton in the early ’90's it was essential to include a kennel for their brood. At one time owning more than 30 mini dachshunds. In addition to breeding and field trials, they were also a rescue site, taking in dachshunds who had been displaced or mistreated and finding them new homes. Carol found great enjoyment in good food, shopping, entertaining, celebrating her Czech heritage, traveling, convertible & motorcycle rides, and spending time in northern Wisconsin. In 2017, she and Pat purchased a small cottage near Lake Tomahawk which she referred to as her “happy place”. Carol’s truest life passion was people. She had a gift for making people feel loved, cared for, and thought of. She made friends everywhere she went and maintained those friendships. She kept an entire closet filled with gifts and gift bags for last minute invitations, illnesses, or celebrations. She will be remembered for her smile, laughter, color coordinated fashion, outrageous shoes, naughty sense of humor, playfulness and pranks, as well as her opinionated, stubborn, tell-it-like-it-is charm. As it is important to focus on and celebrate the amazing life she lived, a chronicle of her life with breast cancer can be found online at Caring Bridge. For those who don’t know, her third and final diagnosis of breast cancer was a beast. An aggressive form which spread to critical areas of her body and was beyond remission. The palliative treatments left her feeling “less than” in so many ways and made it difficult for her to find joy in the life she had. She was so brave, loving fiercely, doing the best she could with what she had. While an end to her life in the near future was expected, it came sooner than we were really prepared for. Carol died at home peacefully in her sleep in the early morning of Wednesday, August 28th, 2019. Just four-ish months after her diagnosis and eight weeks to the day after completing full brain radiation treatments. The reality is there would’ve never be enough time with her. Another week, another year, another five years. It’s a reminder of how essential it is to be invested and present in the time we have with the people we love. To live our best lives in every moment. It’s cliché because it’s true. Carol loved the life she lived and loved the people in it. We transition now from seeing Carole with us, to seeing her in us. The gifts she's given us by who she was can be paid forward in sharing her with the world around us. Amidst our heartache there is so much gratitude to acknowledge and embrace. Carol is survived by her husband, Pat; children, Alyssa Tesar (Dean Fraser) and Sean (Marsha) Tesar; her siblings, Ruth (Bill) Anderson, Linda (Dave) Jones, David (Sue) Karasek, Roger Karasek, Dirk (Mary) Karasek and Brenda Lein; sister-in-law, Maureen (Richard) Dick; many beloved nieces, nephews, cousins, and god-children; and an enormous circle of friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, Leo and Dorothy Karasek. We would like to extend our most sincere and heartfelt gratitude to UW Carbone Cancer Center, UW Breast Center, Agrace HospiceCare, and to the village of friends and family who helped, offered to help, or simply held space for us during these past few months. We will continue to welcome your support as we adjust to living without Carol’s physical presence. Carol's Celebration of Life will be held at OLBRICH GARDENS EVJUE COMMONS, 3330 Atwood Ave., Madison, from 11 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2019. http://olbrich.org Guests may begin arriving after 10:45 a.m. and we hope to begin a formal memorial service at 11 a.m. Following the short service, we will have a Champagne toast and ease into an open house-style celebration with hor d'oeuvres and beverages, where we hope people will laugh, reminisce, hug, cry, and be merry. We invite everyone to wear Carole's favorite color, purple, or to dress in whatever bright festive colors you own. We all will remember her for her vibrant sense of fashion and badass shoes! In lieu of flowers or plants, Carol asked that memorials be made to Agrace HospiceCare, Dane County Humane Society, or Midwest Dachshund Rescue. Gunderson Stoughton Funeral & Cremation Care 1358 Hwy 51 N. at Jackson St. (608) 873-4590