“To be a good cook you have to have a love of the good,
a love of hard work,
and a love of creating.”
Julia Child

Creative could very well have been Carol Heard’s middle name. Whether it was baking homemade bread for sale, cooking impressive and extensive buffets at her restaurant she had in Scone, doing beautiful calligraphy or drawing incredible scenes on pieces of cedar for her business “Wee Wood Work” Carol was artistically gifted.

She was truly talented and yearned to please. She was an amazing baker and cook and had a knack for putting together some super yummy meals and deserts. There was always something new and it was never boring! While others were enjoying their daily roast and potatoes, Carol wanted to cook up chicken tandoori or borsch. She was also very frugal, capable of making something out of nothing and days of creative meals out of leftovers. Her carrot cake, butter tarts and squares were simply scrumptious!

Carol had a talent for decorating cakes, birthday to weddings. They were very detailed and much love and hard work went into each one she made. She would spend hour upon hour into the night until the cake was pure perfection. Everything was homemade because it just makes it better!

Carol would always go that extra mile to make an occasion extra special. She loved decorating the house for every holiday. Halloween was a favourite. Allowing her children to have all their friends over to experience the haunted house theme was thrilling for her! She loved wearing her homemade Raggedy Ann costume.

Carol was able to create memories to last a lifetime. She was very sentimental. Every moment she wanted to remember. Carol had a great love for taking pictures, taping special news events, or clipping news articles to pass down as memories. She was passionate about it.

Carol had a great love for gardening. Go big or go home! Her garden was always lush and so much hard work and dedication went into it. She would even use her imagination to come up with a different planting concept to make it more interesting for her children to get involved. Swirly rows and round mounds of dirt made her garden unique with her own extra special touch. Then came her love for canning! The night the beet jars popped was a memory all on its own!

Born Carol Ann Thurgar in Montreal, Quebec on April 24, 1958, she was the oldest of three children; Linda being born in 1964 and Rodney in 1968. Carol went to Queenston Public School and Woodland Heights High School in Mississauga where she was a track star, making it as far as qualifying for the 1974 Pan Am Games, and setting school records in the process. While attending school, and training for track, Carol also worked at Fuller’s Restaurant in Mississauga and selling Fuller Brushes.

At the tender age of seventeen Carol and Chris Heard were married and began their life together in 1974 at the Armed Forces Base in Trenton, Ontario. Steven soon joined their family. Upon leaving the Armed Forces the young family moved to Hanover where they welcomed Catherine into their lives. Their family of four soon moved and settled in rural Chesley.

Carol was a wonderful, caring mother to her children. She wanted only the best and she stressed to them honesty, hard work, and a true understanding of common sense and manners.

Throughout her life time, Carol worked at the Hanover Music Centre, in many restaurants around the area, as well as Sarah Lillian Place (now known as Brittany Villa). Owning and operating the Scone Mill Restaurant was a dream come true for Carol. Hard work was second nature for Carol. She always went above and beyond, seldom leaving work on time and always working late into the night. Carol’s marriage dissolved over this time and Carol became a life partner with Brian Baechler.

Carol had a wonderful sense of humour. Sometimes almost a jokester! She loved going to live concerts, camping, staying up all night to watch the stars then the sun rise. She enjoyed packing a lunch of sandwiches and, of course, her many thermoses of tea and crossword puzzles and journeying out for the day of exploration. Carol also had a passion for animals. She loved cats and even had a racoon at one point. She was a healer to many feathered friends that would come around injured. She would nurse them back to health and set them free back to the blue skies. Carol had a huge heart for many things.

Sadly, Carol Ann Heard (Thurgar) of Chesley, passed away suddenly at G.B.H.S. Owen Sound on Wednesday, January 13, 2016 in her 57th year.

Beloved partner of Brian Baechler. Loving mother of Steven (Becca) Heard of Port Elgin and Cathy (Ken) Beitz also of Port Elgin. Grieving the opportunity to know her better are Carol’s grandchildren; Lori-Lynn, Cortney, Austin, Tyson, Aiden, Gavin, Paraker, Libby, Austin and Serinity. Carol also leaves behind her great-grandchildren; Bently, Karleigh, Charlotte and Lilly, and a little one due in March.

Carol leaves behind her mother Charlene (Wilken) Thurgar of Hamilton, her siblings Linda (Bill) O’Neil of Florida and Rodney (Michelle) Thurgar of Hamilton, and their families. Grieving her loss are also sisters-in-law Betty (Wayne) Bell of Chesley, Brenda Baechler of Alberta and Bernice Beckler of Stratford/Hanover, and brother-in-law Barry Baechler of Alberta. Missing her terribly are Carol’s Aunt Sadie Wilken, Uncle Wally Wilken, Aunt Barb Wilken, Uncle Donny Wilkens and their families.

Carol was predeceased by her father Thomas Charles Connors and her step-father Bill Thurgar.

Cremation has taken place and a Celebration of Life will take place 2 p.m. April 24, 2016 at Klages Mill, 11 1st Avenue North Chesley. Rhody Family Funeral Home entrusted with arrangements.

Donations in honour of Carol can be made to Canadian Cancer Society or Ontario SPCA – Barrie.