Carolyn Frances Pavlas, 65,  of Sarona died Wednesday, January 2, 2019 at Lakeview Medical Center in Rice Lake. She was born March 14, 1953 in Rice Lake, WI to Melvin and Marcella (Konop) Smith. She was raised in Sarona and graduated from Shell Lake High School in 1971, then attended WITC in Rice Lake. She was married in St. Joseph Catholic Church - Shell Lake on March 25, 1972 to John Pavlas and they moved to Sarona to raised their family. Carolyn waitressed at the A&W, then cooked for the Shell Lake School and was head cook at the Shell Lake Art Center. Carolyn was a talented crafter and her skills included quilting, scrapbooking, cardmaking and baking delicious treats. Always a loving wife and mother, her favorite past-time was spending time with her beloved grandchildren.  

She is survived by her husband of 47 years, John Pavlas; 2 daughters: Michelle (Brad) Jepson of Spooner and Jolene (Brian Lawrence) Pavlas of Sarona; 6 grandchildren: Brandon, Brett, Brody, Chad, Hunter and Kierra; siblings: Marylee (Bill) Tautges of Brainerd, Joan (Bernard) Mancl of Hastings, MN, Kathy (Ron) Zeien of Hastings, MN, Jeanie (Lonnie Jaenke) Buck of Eau Claire, Delores Engel of La Crosse, Ed (Lisa) Smith of Spooner, Tom (Julie) Smith of Faribault, MN, John (Peggy) Smith of Shell Lake and Jeff (Becky) Smith of Spring Valley; brother-in-law, Paul (Vicky) Pavlas of East Bethel, MN and their four children: Shelly and Bob, Jenny and Travis, Paul and Bridget, Lucas and Heather; many nieces, nephews, cousins and other relatives. She was preceded in death by her brother, Gerald Smith.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 AM Tuesday, January 8, 2019 at St. Joseph Catholic Church - Shell Lake with Father Bala Showry officiating. Serving as pallbearers are Ed Smith, Tom Smith, John Smith, Jeff Smith, Paul Pavlas, III and Lucas Pavlas. Honorary pallbearers will be Paul Pavlas, Jr., Gary Erickson and Byron Mott. Visitation will be from 4:00 to 7:00 PM Monday at the Skinner Funeral Home in Shell Lake and for 1 hour prior to Mass on Tuesday at the church.

Skinner Funeral Home of Shell Lake is serving the family.

Last Update: Jan 07, 2019 8:24 am CST