Carol L. Pilcher

Carol Louise Pilcher, 81, of Washington, died Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, in Eagan, Minnesota.

Iowa Cremation Society will be making arrangements for her cremation, and a memorial service in Washington will be held later in October, with final burial alongside her husband in Eldon. Details on the memorial service will be published later.

Mrs. Pilcher was born April 10, 1935, in Eldon, the daughter of Clarence J. Hemm and Florence (Hootmann) Hemm. She married Donald C. Pilcher on July 31, 1953.

She was raised in Eldon. She attended and graduated from Eldon High School in 1952, one month after her 17th birthday. She was active in school choir and played basketball, and was a starter for varsity beginning in the eighth grade. She attended the University of Iowa before her marriage. She and her husband spent their careers as printers in Eldon, Ottumwa, and in Washington, where they settled in 1956 and where she was employed at McCleery Cumming Co. Inc. until her retirement. She and her husband both enjoyed politics, becoming very active in the Washington County Democratic Party. She was the first woman to run for the Board of Supervisors in Washington County; and, while she was ultimately unsuccessful, it was a close race. She remained active in the Democratic Party and the presidential political races until the time of her death. She was also a historian and genealogist, writing two books on her family history. She was a member of the DAR and a member of the Washington United Methodist Church. She attended Hawkeye Women?s Basketball games, starting with the C. Vivian Stringer era through the past season. She also greatly enjoyed her luncheons with her friends at Halcyon House and her former co-workers at McCleery Cumming Co. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren were the highlights of her life in her later years.

Surviving are two daughters, Julie A. Gilmere and husband Jerrold of Washington, and Jane E. Tummonds of Eagan, Minnesota; four grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Donald; and one brother, Kenneth Hemm.