Carole Asbury passed away Tuesday, July 11, 2023, at Royal Plaza in Lewiston after battling cancer for several months. Carole was six weeks short of her 80th birthday at the time of her death. She was born on Aug. 23, 1943, to Ulrich “Butch” and Doris Guntly in Hartford, Wis. Carole’s younger brother, Donald, was born three years later. In the early 1950s the family moved to Kennewick where her father began working at the Hanford Project Area. Carole’s parents built a cabin in Elk City, Idaho, as a vacation and retirement home.
Carole graduated from Kennewick High School in 1962. She attended Washington State University where she met and married Glendon Asbury. Carole left school to work as a secretary at the nuclear test reactor at WSU to support her husband’s education. After six years of marriage the couple divorced.
Carole moved to Portland and worked in secretarial positions until she was hired as a sales representative for Nabisco in Seattle. She rose in position at Nabisco until she was promoted to West Coast regional sales manager, based in the Bay Area of California. She enjoyed traveling for business around the country, had many direct reports, and was one of the first women in sales management at Nabisco. It was in California that she met the love of her life, Ted Richter. Ted and Carole were always eager for a new adventure and during this time Carole earned her private pilot’s license. Ted and Carole enjoyed more than 10 years together until his passing in 1993, just a few months before they were to marry.
In 1994 Carole moved to Clarkston to take care of her mother, who had moved to town from Elk City. At this time Carole began working as a temporary admin assistant with the Environmental Department at Potlatch Corporation. This became a permanent position and began Carole’s second career, working with Environmental Engineering in the Pulp and Paperboard Division. For more than 20 years she became a fixture in the mill, holding several environmental positions. She retired from Clearwater Paper, with reluctance, at the age of 73.
During her time with Clearwater Paper, Carole went back to school at Lewis-Clark State College and earned her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Biology. She became an avid LCSC booster, serving on the LCSC Alumni Foundation Board for several years. Carole was very active in community affairs serving in Idaho Women in Timber and the Lewis Clark Chamber of Commerce Natural Resources Committee. She was also a member of Clearwater Canyon Cellars wine club. She belonged to many bunco groups over the years and enjoyed watching Seattle Seahawks games at Rookies in Clarkston with friends. In retirement she joined the Elk’s Lodge and spent evenings organizing the kitchen, serving dinners, and assisting with various events, as well as socializing over coffee in the mornings.
Carole loved adventure and travel and enjoyed visiting Italy, Ireland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and a photo safari in South Africa with her friends. Her last trip to Spain was canceled because of COVID-19. In addition to sightseeing on these trips, one of her favorite activities was to just sit in a cafe, sometimes by herself, and meet and talk to new people. One never lacked for conversation when Carole was around and she never met anyone she didn’t befriend. She will be sadly missed by all who knew and loved her.
An open house celebration of life will be held from 2-4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 23, at 1020 7th Avenue in Lewiston.
