Carol Lepka
Carolyn Elizabeth Lepka passed away Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022, at Brookdale Assisted Living in Richland, Wash.
Graveside services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Seneacquoteen Cemetery in Sagle, Idaho, with Pastor Hollis Stewart officiating.
Carol was born Nov. 29, 1933, to Gordon and Mary McNew in Laclede, Idaho. She grew up with her parents and two brothers on a post-depression farm, where self-sufficiency was vital. She attended Sandpoint, Idaho, schools where she met the love of her life, Robert (Bob) L. Lepka.
The couple were married June 10, 1950. Her husband Bob enlisted in the Air Force after their marriage while Carol was pregnant and she gave birth to her first of three sons, Stanley (Stan) J. Lepka. Carol and her son stayed with her parents in Sandpoint while Bob served overseas. Following his overseas assignment Bob was stationed in Chanute Field in Illinois where the family joined him and resided in Champaign, Ill., when their second son, Robert P (Paul) Lepka was born. Upon Bob's discharge from the Air Force, the family relocated back to Sandpoint, where Carol gave birth to her third son, John G. Lepka.
The couple later moved to Newport, Wash., where Bob found employment at the Diamond Match Co. and Carol worked at Kimball’s Drug Store. In the summer of 1962, the family relocated to Pasco, Wash., where Bob opened his first barbershop and Carol found employment at Lyle's Drug Store in Kennewick. Following Lyle’s closure Carol went to work at Corks Pharmacy until her retirement.
Carol and Bob loved spending time with friends and family, going dancing, singing karaoke, and spending time together in the mountains. In the early 1990s, they bought a trailer in the Blue Mountains of Eastern Oregon and built it into a great cabin for all to enjoy. Filled with laughter, snowmobiles, ATVs, feeding wild animals, huckleberry picking and fun.
Carol and Bob enjoyed life together in their golden years of retirement. They took off and drove across the country and enjoyed many museums, monuments, and sites along the way, ending up in Kentucky so Bob could fulfill his lifelong dream of watching the Kentucky Derby in person.
When they made their way back, they settled into life, spending weekends up at the cabin and weekdays in town with the grandkids. Carol loved having her family around. She enjoyed sewing, crafting, huckleberry picking, canning and baking. She especially enjoyed baking for those she loved, which was everyone in her family and friend circle. Friends turned into family with Carol and Bob. She was a woman of light and love and had a way of making you feel so special. Always making sure she had one of your favorites on hand, you could expect to have a fresh loaf of bread or baked goods cooling on the counter. For those times when her friends or family ever dropped by. If you were lucky, you might even get a slice of her famous huckleberry pie.
Carol was preceded in death by her husband, Bob Lepka; parents, Gordon and Mary McNew; and brothers, Gordon (Gordie) McNew and James (Jim) McNew.
She is survived by her boys, Stan (Suzie) Lepka, Paul Lepka, and John (Karen) Lepka; her grandchildren, Scott Lepka, Sarah Lepka, Sam Softich, Rochelle (Lorenzo) Ubay, Sean Lepka, and Ciara Lepka; her great-grandchildren, Lauren (Ryan) Kainrath, Lane Lepka, Austin (AJ) Lepka, Xander Ubay, Matteo Ubay, Briella Ubay, Jordan Vargus, and Melanie Vargus. She also has two great-great-grandchildren, Kayden Lepka (Lane’s son) and Charlotte Kainrath (Lauren’s daughter). Also surviving Carol is her special niece and her husband, Helen and Dave Hoidal of Buckeye, Arizona.
Lakeview Funeral Home in Sandpoint is handling the services. Please visit Carol’s online memorial at www.lakeviewfuneral.com and sign her guest book.