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On Friday, Oct. 6, 2023 Carol Anne Cory passed away at the age of 88 in the home of her eldest son Brian Cory in North Las Vegas, Nevada surrounded by family. Carol is survived by her partner of the past five years Joseph “Rip” Kirby, her six children Brian, Scott, Mark, Sean, Lisa and Tim, 11 grandchildren Stephen, Kristine, Kevin, Melissa, Hannah, Oliver, Noah, Daniel, Chelsea, Julia and Adam, 11 great-grandchildren Sunday, Gabrielle, Liam, Nathaniel, Ronan, Eden, Alira, Landon, Benjamin (Puliklah), Melania (Che’Noa), Kehlani (Aiyanna). She was the loving matriarch of this great clan.
The eldest daughter of Robert O’Brien and Louise Brancheau, she was born Dec. 29, 1934 in San Rafael, Calif. She spent her childhood living in San Rafael and in Hollister, Calif., White Plains, New York and back to San Rafael, where she graduated from Marin Catholic High School. At Marin Catholic she met her first husband and father of her six children, Robert Cory. Bob and Carol moved to the Garberville area in 1959 when they purchased the lab at Southern Humboldt Community Hospital. In her almost 60 years living in Southern Humboldt she created a lasting legacy. She started the first Hospice care service in the area, for many years led the Red Cross summer swim program at Benbow Lake, was a driving force within the Our Lady of the Redwoods Catholic Parish, organized summer camps at the YMCA Camp, and was an active member of the Soroptimist Club and an organizer in youth sports to support her six children.
Carol was always moving forward! Upon dissolution of her first marriage she went back to school to obtain her nursing degree. She started Hospice upon completion of her degree, by her account because the area needed one and “I needed a job.” Around that time she started working at Redwood Memorial Hospital where she was a surgical nurse for over 25 years, only interrupted by a five-year stint in San Francisco working at the French Hospital on Geary Street. During this time she married her second husband, Harry Horner. They moved back to Garberville. Harry and Carol spent much of their free time playing golf, socializing with friends and traveling both domestically and to Asia and Europe.
Carol was a lifelong Giants fan, as baseball played a key part of her life. Her father was an accomplished baseball player, her second husband played well into his 40s and she met her first husband at her brother’s baseball practice. She attended many Giants games in person with her longtime friend Ora Swithenbank, spent much of her final years watching on TV as the Giants won pennants in the good years and suffer through other years. Carol was an avid swimmer her entire life, many years at home in Redway, then later with a group in Briceland and finally at the YMCA in Las Vegas. When she started seeing Rip they regularly played poker with a group out in Whitethorn.
Carol lived in the Southern Humboldt area until 2018 when she moved to Utah to be close to her eldest son, Brian. However, always moving forward, she didn’t leave town alone as Rip Kirby joined her in Clearfield, Utah. They spent their time exploring the area, pursuing their interests, and hosting family. After two years in Utah, the exploring continued as Carol and Rip moved alongside Brian and family in Las Vegas, where they spent Carol’s final years together.
A memorial service will be held May 26, 2024 at Our Lady of the Redwoods with a celebration of Carol’s life after; a notice will be posted closer to the date.
