Carol Mickelson Bullock

Carol Mickelson Bullock passed peacefully at her home surrounded by family on April 12, 2026. She was born to Clinton James Mickelson and Maurine Hansen on May 5, 1935, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Carol is preceded in death by her husband, Joseph Jay Bullock; her sister, Lou Jean; her brother, Russ; her granddaughter, Brandi; and great-grandchild, Justin. She is survived by her brother Douglas; her daughter Karen (Jim Kreeck) and their daughters Anne and Abigail; her son Clinton (Shelley) and their children Jason (Kristen), Chantelle (Michael), Joey (Crystal), Rachelle (Justin), Jared, Alexandra (Trevor), and Nicole; as well as thirteen great-grandchildren and one great-great-granddaughter.

Carol went to American Fork High before transferring to Snow Junior College in Ephraim for the last two years of high school. Afterwards, she attended Brigham Young University—of which she remained a devoted and faithful fan as an alumna—where she studied home economics and library science. Following her graduation, she taught home economics and worked as the librarian at Cyprus High School. After teaching for a few years, Carol got an apartment in Washington D.C. to live in the same city as her then boyfriend, Jay, since the two thought it would be rash to get engaged before they lived in the same city. Working as a teacher, she lived in D.C. for a year while Jay finished law school and worked for the IRS. Jay and Carol married on June 27th of 1963. Carol and Jay were both forces of nature, which is probably part of what drew them together. They divided the labor of their lives so that each could rule in their own domain and never ceased supporting one another ardently in all aspects of life.

As a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Carol actively participated in every ward wherever she lived and often where she traveled. Whatever the structure of the time, she was a faithful member. We were charmed to learn that while in Y.W.M.I.A she completed the ranks of Builder, Gatherer, and Guardian in the Butterfly Swarm of the Seventh Ward of the Alpine, Utah Stake as a young lady. She served in many callings and positions from Primary Secretary to dedicated dishwasher on the Relief Society Compassionate Service Committee. Participating in her Crestview Ward scripture group and the Oak Hills Camp of Daughters of Utah Pioneers was treasured by Carol, for both the knowledge she gained and the close, caring relationships she formed with others.

Throughout her life, Carol had many hobbies including reading, tennis, golf, bridge, snowmobiling, motorbiking, camping, various forms of needlework, and more. Of these, two in particular were very near and dear to her heart: travel and genealogy. Carol was extremely proud of her Danish and Norwegian heritage and of her ancestors who walked across the plains as part of the Mormon pioneer handcart companies. She continued her mother’s project tracing her ancestry back through generations, an endeavor her granddaughter Abigail gladly worked on with her. Together the two have traced back their genealogy to 1621, or to Carol’s 9th-great grandfather. Abigail is continuing to trace the family’s genealogy even further.

Carol’s passion for genealogy informed her travels as well; she made many trips to Europe (Denmark especially) visiting historical sites with friends and family. Her love to see the world encompassed much more than just her ancestral places though. She traveled far and wide and often. When her kids were young, she and Jay would take them on long summertime road trips across the country, during which the four traveled through at least 38 states. They even made the drive to Alaska on the ALCAN Highway in the summer of ’78 (yes, it was still a gravel road). Carol took her first cruise in 2000, and one could say after that she was hooked. She took cruises to the Caribbean, along the California coast, through the St. Lawrence Seaway and Panama Canal, around Iceland and Greenland, to the Pacific Islands, along the Alaskan coast (twice!), and even to Antarctica. After her dear Jay passed in 2007, Carol’s cousin Kathryn (aka Kay, aka Katy!) Wilson became her faithful travel companion. In addition to many of the aforementioned cruises, the two went to the Rose Parade, the Albuquerque Balloon Festival and drove where the roads took them including Sturgis and the Badlands, LDS church sites, and family events across the country, to name a few. When there were no big trips, Carol was often found taking weekend trips to the family cabin or down south to Saint George, always with dear friends or family in tow.

Carol’s inability to keep still was not just a geographical phenomenon, it also fueled her passion for community building and social involvement. Throughout her life Carol belonged to numerous social and service groups, which included Gold Key and Future Homemakers of America at Snow Junior College, continuing with Nautilus and the Y Calcares while she was studying at BYU and then expanding to her dear service sorority Beta Sigma Phi, the Salt Lake Council of Women, and the Utah Women’s Legislative Council. In many of these organizations, Carol held leadership positions. For example, in 2023-2024 Carol was named the Woman of the Year by her chapter of Beta Sigma Phi. As woman of the year, she was recognized for serving in each chapter office and on all chapter committees throughout the years, including serving as chapter president twice. When she was not working on various service initiatives with her groups, she was attending socials and lunches with them. She did not constrain her social networks to only formal organizations though. As her plentiful friends can attest, once you made a friend of Carol you had a friend for life. She regularly got together to catch up with her “Lunch Bunch,” saw her college roommates and recently began meeting up with friends she had made in elementary and junior high. She was never afraid to reach out with a phone call, email, or card to see how someone was doing.

Being a very practical woman, Carol would often cut clippings from magazines and newspapers and photocopy them to distribute in little envelopes to her family members individually. Sometimes she picked specific things for specific people and other times she included advice that she knew everyone would benefit from. These clippings included recipes, financial advice, cleaning techniques, career strategies, and so on.

In Carol’s memory, we would like to share, not the lessons we learned from her many pieces of ephemera, but from her life itself: Respect the life choices, beliefs, and faith of others, while remaining true to your own. Teach your children and grandchildren how to do domestic labor at every opportunity. Teach your grandchildren proper table etiquette and sternly, but kindly, enforce it. If a granddaughter forgets to take her hat off at the table and gasps suddenly remembering it, just give her a wink rather than a reprimand. Dance when your kids buy you a vintage eight-track; dance when your granddaughters do. Welcome nieces and nephews into your house to stay when they arrive late in the evening just as you would welcome them earlier (save the chiding for your brother and his many road trip stops). Teach your great grandchildren about the meaning of the Easter lamb softly and warmly, when they may not know. Send many cards for birthdays, holidays, and just because—if you are able, handwrite them all. If you fall out of contact with a friend, do not hesitate to call them again and suggest meeting for lunch. Whenever you see someone, greet them with a sincere hello; it helps to show people their worth. Make homemade Christmas fudge and give it out in holiday tins (make sure the recipients know to return the tins for next year’s batch!). Put an orange or an apple in Christmas stockings to make sure there is something more nutritious than candies and treats to indulge in and remind them that this is sometimes all that her father got in his stocking. Travel as much as you can, with friends and family. Make an itinerary, but if you forget that the Sturgis Rally will be happening while you and your cousin pass through, join in and enjoy yourself — your family will recount the story for ages. Love your family steadfastly. You don’t need to show it overtly all the time but demonstrate your love through acts of service. Make sure dinner is hot on the table no matter what time the family shows up. Accommodate dietary needs of grandchildren (even if you’re not convinced, they’re getting enough protein as a vegetarian). Visit family in the hospital as long and as much as you possibly can. Accept and love who your kids and grandkids love, no matter what. Make sure to call your daughter every day but frequently call under the guise of something practical so she doesn’t think you’re too sentimental. Do not stop chiding your son even when he’s an adult because he really needs to get some sleep too, even when he is staying awake with you in your final days. When your granddaughters protest you slipping them an extra $20 for fun or you cleaning up after them saying “oh, Grandma, you don’t have to do that!” without fail turn to them with a twinkle in your eye, maybe even a wink and a small, clever smile and say “darling, I don’t have to do anything but breathe!”

We will all miss her so dearly. In Carol’s memory to show your love and affection, please pass on a piece of good advice to anyone who will listen, call an old friend, and arrange a social event with friends and family. If you prefer, in lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Primary Children’s Hospital Foundation or PBS Utah.

The family will host a visitation and viewing on Tuesday April 28th at Larkin Sunset Lawn (2350 E 1300 S, Salt Lake City UT) from 6:00 – 8:00 PM.

On Wednesday April 29th, a visitation and viewing will be held at 10:00 AM followed by Carol’s funeral at 11:00 AM at the Crestview Ward (2795 E Crestview Drive, Salt Lake City UT), with dedication of the grave at Larkin Sunset Lawn (2350 E 1300 S, Salt Lake City UT) at 12:30 PM.