Carol Winter Norby Hill

A peaceful end to a long life well-lived is as much as anyone can ask for. Carol Winter Norby Hill left us quietly on the morning of July 29. She was 94.

On June 19, 1930, Carol June Winter was born to Theophilus and Susie Carr Winter of Pocatello, the third of their five children. The gifts she would share with the world were clear early on. Carol had a beautiful singing voice which she blended with those of her older sisters Virginia & Ruth as a trio and later, when their baby sister Annemarie was old enough, as a quartet. As an adult, Carol was a frequent soloist and choir member at her church, a member of Camerata Singers, and often lent her voice to weddings and funeral services. She also created a soundtrack for her life by humming nearly everywhere nearly all the time. Her parents taught her a love of God. Carol worshipped with her family from infancy and was, all her life, an asset to every congregation she was a part of. The First Church of God in Pocatello, the Cloverdale Church of God in Boise, and the Central Christian Church in Pocatello all felt the benefits of her energy and enthusiasm, and relished her yummy cookies.

Carol was also a tomboy whose athleticism won her a place on Pocatello’s city softball team. She taught those skills to her sons, instilling in them a life-long love of baseball. Like her siblings, Carol was also an accomplished bowler and an excellent skater. She shared her brother Robert’s interest in fast cars to look at and to drive. She was an excellent driver and when she could no longer do that, she loved going to Chrome in the Dome.

Most important of all, the little girl who couldn’t go to bed till her dolls were safely tucked in became the amazing mother of six, grandmother of thirteen, and great-grandmother of fourteen, with more on the way. In August of 1947, just before the start of her senior year at Pocatello High School, Carol married Edward Dean Norby. They were later divorced. Like most moms of her generation, Carol was a full-time homemaker and the home she made was a welcoming one for the friends and classmates of her children. More than one unrelated adolescent lived at the Norbys’ for a bit. As her siblings married and her children began to choose life partners, she welcomed them all. Once you were part of her family, she kept you close for as long as you lived regardless of legal complications like divorce. She also nurtured connections with extended family with cards, letters, phone calls, and annual Winter family reunions using planes, trains, automobiles, and busses to get herself and the kids to wherever the family was gathering. She remembered every birthday and attended every graduation and every wedding for as long as she was able. Carol supported all of her kids’ and grandkids’ activities and enthusiasms, from little league to university football and drill team to community theatre. She was a loyal and vocal fan all of her life who taught her children to root hard, remain loyal, be good sports, and that a real ISU fan never leaves before the game is over regardless of the score. 

While her kids were growing up, Carol joined Beta Sigma Phi and the Jollyettes, a strictly social club she remained part of for forty-plus years. In the 1980s, Carol began working as a customer service representative for Intermountain Gas. A decade later, when the company transferred her, she moved to Boise with her second husband, Lorin Hill, from whom she was later divorced. Although she loved her Boise church, Carol never felt at home there and when she retired, she moved back to Pocatello. Carol remained fiercely loyal to her hometown all her long life. Here, she reconnected with old friends and joined the Pocatello High School 50-Year+ Reunion Committee, volunteered as a canteen worker at Red Cross blood drawings, and served as President of her church’s women’s group. She also helped out with the grands and greats and attended baseball, football, and soccer games beyond number. Her 70s and early 80s were among the busiest and happiest years of her life.

Carol is survived by her children: Jackie Czerepinski (Roger Freeman), Kevin Norby (Tanya Firth), Craig Norby (Susan), Nanette Phinney (Vernon), and Kristina Cutting (Kevin); her grandchildren and great-grandchildren; her sisters Ruth Travis and Annemarie Clarke; and many nieces and nephews and their offspring. She was preceded in death by her son Michael Norby, her parents, her brother Robert Winter, and her sister Virginia Hansen.

The family would like to thank the staff of Brookdale Assisted Living in Chubbuck, The Gables II, and Heritage Hospice for their tender and constant care. We’re celebrating Carol’s life at Westside Players Warehouse, 1009 S. 2nd Ave. in Pocatello on Thursday, August 15 beginning at 5:00 p.m.