Carol M Perkon

In Memory of Carol M. Perkon Our wonderful mother, Carol M. Perkon, passed away peacefully and unexpectedly in Brooksville, FL, on July 22, 2021. She leaves behind three children, six grandchildren, and our close families. Fortunately, it will be easy for us to see through our tears to remember her beautiful smile, loving heart and the oh so many happy memories she created. She continues to bring peace, strength, and comfort in all the memories we will continue to cherish through the years. We love you mom! Dear mom in heaven, I sat down to write an obituary and then thought writing you a letter in heaven would be more helpful. I had difficulty with all the emotions and memories and thought a personal letter will help us through the grief, anger, and sorrow we feel when thinking about your passing. This is more personal, and I enjoy the feeling of talking to you again. You are truly missed by all who knew you. We know you are happy in heaven, but my first emotion at your passing was anger of how and why it happened. I am your baby, and you are the most cherished. It would make me much happier to have you here to visit, talk to on the phone and share all our experiences in life that you so enjoyed hearing. My anger faded quickly as I wrote this letter, and it was replaced by heartbreaking emotion. I started writing this letter with pen and paper, but I soon wet the paper with all my tears. I switched to my computer and let the tears fall as I wrote out these memories from your loved children and grandchildren. Your smile and the happiness you brought to us was noted by all. You always had a smile, and your squeal that filled the room each time a son, daughter, grandchild, niece, and nephew entered your house to surprise you on your 80th birthday was exactly what we all needed. You loved for us all to be together and every time we visited, the sparkle in your eyes and that beautiful smile along with big hugs made that clear to all. You cherished and supported us unconditionally and did it with class and beauty. Flying to graduations to be there for the grand kids, even though you hated planes, is just one example of the many ways you continued to show up for us all. You were so proud of your children and grandchildren and their accomplishments. Your children’s success at work, Danielle's never-ending drive to be a vet, and Kaylee’s aspirations to be a PA after college were topics you were always eager to hear more about. Danielle’s random texts letting you know she loves you and misses you would always brighten your day. You also never failed to comment on how sweet Kaylee is as well as point out how bright and smart she is. We could talk to you about anything and everything, and we did. You were always so excited for our calls and hearing what was new with the girls as well as us treating you with pictures of our life. Stephanie had so many things to put in an obituary that it would take a book to include them all. A big memory of hers is the holidays and Christmas with family. You always wanted people to eat tons of food. It was delicious. You liked going out with us so much you had no problem looking like a double-fisted drinker while holding Cristy’s and Stephanie’s beers while they used the restroom at the Indy 500 race in the rain. We all enjoyed your thoughtfulness of offering a brownie to the guy next to us who had just rolled and smoked a joint at the same race. You also loved the Indianapolis Colts and we loved to cheer along. You always looked forward to Mark and Jane’s visits. They have wonderful memories of their trips and will always cherish them. Stephanie, Kris, and the kids all got excited when you visited from Indiana. They felt blessed and so lucky when you moved to Florida. They all love that you enjoyed the beach vacations and shopping for dresses and young man suits. You were so extremely proud of the grand kids and loved to talk about them or just watch them. You loved taking care of Kolton when he was little and he has wonderful memories of going to Grandmas. You loved following his military career and mailing updated sports information to him and he and the men in his unit loved it. You loved going to Alyssa’s softball games. Stephanie talks about how much fun you had while putting your heads together to quietly bad talk the umpire and various errors. You were always a fan favorite at the games. Both parents and kids often came to you to say, “hi Gram” and give you a hug. Seeing your grandchildren wearing your fancy scarfs and doing fashion shows radiated your happiness to all. You loved Neil Diamond, as do Stephanie, Alyssa and I, and you enjoyed a party. Seeing any of the grandchildren’s friends gather was endless entertainment for you. We all remember the trips to see family in Cleveland—cherished memories. You are special to each of us with the kindest and purest heart. Whether you were our mother or “second mom” you were always there for us. Regardless of the day you passed, it will always be too soon, and we would have cherished the chance to say goodbye. We all wish you were still with us in life. We will miss you every day, mom, and we hope you are able to see and hear about our accomplishments and happy events you so love to discuss and even our difficult times that you supported us through. We will keep you updated on these things to keep you present in our lives while you support us from heaven. We know you will. You were always our strongest supporter, and you clearly showed us what unconditional love is. It is one of the greatest gifts you gave us. We love you mom and will continue to make you proud. We’ll celebrate your life and remember your beautiful smile, loving heart, and many happy memories you created. I love you mom, Your baby David and family We little knew that morning, God was going to call your name. In life we loved you dearly, It broke our hearts to lose you, You did not go alone. For part of us went with you, The day God called you home. You left us beautiful memories, Your love is still our guide. And though we cannot see you, You are always by our side. Our family chain is broken, And nothing seems the same. But as God calls us one by one, The chain will link again