Carol Clemens

Carol Clemens was born on Feb. 25, 1947, to Arlene and Robert Clemens and died just short of her 67th birthday on Jan. 15, 2015, after a three-year battle with cancer. She was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and grew up in White Bear Lake and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where she graduated from Washington High School in 1965. She attended the University of Iowa, graduating in 1970 with an English degree. After graduation, she traveled extensively in Europe before ending up in Afghanistan where she lived in Kabul for six months.

After returning to the U.S. she followed her brother to Palmer in 1974. She has made Alaska her home since then but traveled outside over the years, especially during the winter. Some of her adventures outside Alaska included sailing in the Caribbean, traveling through Mexico several times, visiting the Grand Canyon and spending several winters in Washington state.

She spent many years living in the Bush, in Manley Hot Springs at Baker Creek and down river from Ruby, among other places. Living in the Bush, she supported herself by subsistence fishing for both herself and her dogs and growing her own vegetables.

Her time in Alaska was filled with river trips and mushing adventures. She took at least six long river trips in Alaska and the Yukon Territory and one winter she mushed from Manley to Nome with a fellow dog musher.

Several summers she worked as a cook for remote geology camps. She also worked for Alaska Fish and Game and spent eight years at Life Quest in Wasilla as a mental health worker.

Carol is survived by her parents; her brother, Bruce; and sister, Carla, and their spouses.

As her battle with cancer ended, she spent the last six weeks of her life in the home of Laurel and Charlie Overby in a caring and loving atmosphere surrounded by old and new friends alike.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Kehl’s Palmer Mortuary.