Carolyn Lee Stroppa of Seattle Washington, 75, born on April 9th, 1948, daughter of the late Kenneth and Stella Bush of Seattle and South Dakota, passed away peacefully in Swedish Hospital Cherry Hill on November 12, 2023 in the early morning hours surrounded by the love of her family.
She was predeceased by her brother Jerry Bush, who passed away in 1996.
Carol was an avid reader, and was known to read books as large as 400 pages in only a
weekend. She was gifted a kindle so she had access to thousands of books, and enjoyed the freedom it gave her to find her next favorite book. She often gave wonderful book recommendations to the members of her family, and was a wonderful woman to ask for an opinion of a book.
Carol also had a passion for traveling. She and her beloved husband of 53 years, Fred, traveled to the Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany and Africa, where they enjoyed immersing themselves in the beautiful nature, wildlife, and native villages and towns. They enjoyed a safari during their vacation to Africa where their tour guide gave them close-up looks at many wild animals and the chance to create once in a lifetime memories; memories Carol cherished greatly and shared with her family. Many more memories were made of countless family camping trips to beautiful destinations, and road trips taken with Fred to many places; including one back to her home state of South Dakota shortly before her passing.
Carol loved surrounding herself with beauty; as was no different with her art collection of many paintings, Kairser statues, and one of her favorite pieces she displayed in her home: a hand woven needlepoint of a sunset over a lake made and gifted to her by her friend Ling from china whom she met in the library system. All around the home she and Fred built, art lined the walls, cabinets, and floor. A statement piece in the home is a large wooden lion, Rex, a piece particularly popular with her grandchildren. The art Carol chose to display was unique to her taste, but just as uniquely beautiful as her.
Known as "nena"(Nee-nah) to her grandchildren, Carol, accompanied by her equally supportive husband, was a regular face in the crowd at her grandson DiAngelo's choir  concerts, grandchildren Emelia, Landon, and Chiara's athletic events, and many of their academic events, DiAngelo's graduation from high school being a recent one. She loved to spend time with her grandchildren as well, from taking her oldest granddaughter Cailen to Pike Place Market for the first time, to accompanying DiAngelo to engineering workshops and Emelia, Landon, and Chiara to various cooking and baking classes. Carol was always up for having fun with the grandkids.
Just as she enjoyed socializing with her grandkids, she enjoyed throwing lunch, dinner, and holiday parties at her home for her family and friends. A family tradition Carol made was her infamous Christmas Eve party, where she baked a lovely assortment of desserts and with the help of Fred and children Michael, Susie, Jody, and Waiman, cooked a delicious dinner for years on end. Another wonderful tradition was the "birthday plate and hat", a tradition that accounted for many silly but loving family photos with the birthday boy or girl having a large cake shaped hat on. Many weekends were spent in the dining room of the Stroppa home enjoying amazing home cooked meals and creating the memories her loved ones will cherish for the years to come.
Chasing her passion of travel, Carol was a flight attendant for United Airlines from ages 20 to 32. During her time as a flight attendant, she enjoyed sight seeing while also having the opportunity to meet the Seattle Mariners, who gave her and her fellow flight attendants all a
lovely necklace for their hard work. Along with pursuing a travel based career, Carol worked at her local library in Tukwila and White Center. She enjoyed her time there for 20 plus years, always finding new books to interest her while helping others do the same.
She is survived by her two sisters Sally Gibson and Joan Duggan; son Michael Stroppa and Waiman; daughter Susie and husband, Jody Terrana, and step-son James Defehr. Carol is also survived by her seven grandchildren, Cailen, Jeris, James, DiAngelo, Emelia, Landon, Chiara; and her two great-grandsons Maddux and Jaxson. She is also survived by nephew David and wife Sherry Duggan, and her great nieces Maddie and Hannah.
Carol's wishes were to be cremated and have her ashes spread on Mt.Rainier; the wishes of a true traveler.

Lovingly written by Emelia Stroppa