Carolyn Thorburn

Carolyn Sue Thorburn, 77, of LeClaire passed away December 21, 2018 at Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House in Bettendorf, after a reoccurrence of breast cancer.

Per her wishes, she will be cremated and there will be no services. Quad Cities Cremation Center is assisting the family with arrangements.

Carolyn was born August 5, 1941 in Quincy, IL, the daughter of Harold and Joye Wilke Reinebach. She married Bruce Richard Thorburn July 20, 1963 at Pleasant Grove Church in Liberty, IL. Carolyn received a Bachelor's Degree in Dietetics from the University of Iowa. She was the office manager of her husband's orthodontic practice. Her most important job was raising their 3 children. She enjoyed listening to live music, ballroom dancing and conversation. Along with her husband, she was a season ticket holder to the Quad City Symphony, and enjoyed attending traditional jazz festivals throughout the Midwest.

Survivors include her husband Bruce; children Jolene Rae Klingenberg of St. Louis, MO, Craig Eric Thorburn of LeClaire and Christine Marie (Ted Huang) Thorburn of Menlo Park, CA; grandchildren Nathan Michael Klingenberg and Eva Rae Klingenberg, both of St. Louis, MO and a brother Dean Reinebach of Las Vegas, NM.

Carolyn was preceded in death by her parents and son in law Gregory York Klingenberg.


Bruce's Eulogy for Carolyn

I lost the love of my life on the Winter Solstice; her light went out as the new light for the Earth was returning. She left us reluctantly, but breast cancer is a relentless disease, especially when it returns a second time. This time it surrounded her throat so that she could not swallow food or her cancer medicines. What started as a dry cough turned into devastation as we went from medical specialist to specialist trying to explain her symptoms. Eventually the lungs and liver were involved, making her weak and essentially bedridden. She lost thirty-five pounds in three-and-a-half weeks. Carolyn loved to converse and eat great food, but couldn't do either at the end.

My sweet Carolyn, this daughter of a pig farmer, with her sparkly eyes and wonderful smile, trained as a dietitian but became an office manager, dental insurance expert, and mother of three children -- each with diversified talents. Our relationship was so compatible. We both loved live music of many kinds, but especially classical, early traditional jazz, and ragtime. We were symptatico in things political and religious and she had a sweet innocence or naivete. However, she was not always in agreement and could have invented the phrase "stand your ground." The saying "waste not, want not" also suited her. She hated to throw anything away, always sorting and organizing for a possible future need. My sweetheart had a system for everything in the house, and I don't know how I'll manage to pick up where she left off.

We loved, we laughed, we cried for fifty-five plus years together, and I am missing her so.