Carol Jean Pomeroy

Carol Jean Pomeroy (Feb. 17, 1929 - Nov. 25, 2021)

Carol Jean Pomeroy, 92, died at her home at the Restorium in Bonners Ferry on Nov. 25, 2021.

A Celebration of Life gathering will be held in April at Trinity Lutheran Church. Interment will be in the Grandview Cemetery, Bonners Ferry, Idaho.

Carol Pomeroy was born Feb. 17, 1929, to Stephen Loren and Mabel Evelyn (McFarland) Pomeroy, on the family's ranch near New Plymouth, Idaho. She was the youngest of three sisters and a brother who all preceded her in death.

She graduated with an R.N. from Sacred Heart School of Nursing in 1949, where she was vice president of her class. She went to work as a registered nurse at the Veterans Hospital in Boise, where she met Bernice Cone, who was also an R.N. at the hospital. They became lifelong friends and partners. They moved to Bonners Ferry to work with Bernice's parents, Elbert and Lotus Cone, at Cones Grocery and Cafe. In 1961, they became partners in the family business.

Bernice died in 2010.

Carol woke up early every morning to bake pies for the cafe, which was a central gathering place for friends and visitors alike. She worked nearly every job at the cafe, and in fact customers remember her taking their orders, moving to the grill to cook their hamburgers and fries, then coming back to the table to serve them. Carol and Bernice enjoyed putting their young nephews and nieces to work pouring coffee and counting change, often rewarding their work with a shiny silver dollar.

The family bought Irwin Flooring in 1976, sold it in 1985 and disbanded the family corporation. They spent the next 12 years doing maintenance work and lawn care for Trinity Lutheran Church. Pastor Andy Hinderlie of Trinity Lutheran Church, who worked with Carol over the years, said he appreciated her cheerful outlook on life and her willingness to help people. Her friends describe her as kind, pleasant, always smiling, with never a bad word for anyone.

Carol and Bernice retired in 1997 and built a home on the rim in Moyie Springs, where they had a spectacular view of the Moyie and Kootenai River Canyons. The families on the rim became close. The Plato family lived next door, and daughter Corinne Plato remembers shoveling snow for a walkway to Carol and Bea's so she could have morning coffee with them and an afternoon cocktail. In later years, Carol spent hours in her recliner in front of her big wall-length windows watching the birds, deer and other wildlife in the park-like grounds around the house.

Carol was famous for her peanut brittle, which she and Bernice made, along with friends, in an elaborate process weeks before Christmas. She'd mail batches every Christmas to family scattered around the country.

Carol and Bernice also enjoyed rock hunting and traveling. In 2016, Carol moved to the Restorium, where she loved to visit with other residents and watch the birds outside her window. The Restorium created a sewing space for her in the basement, where she happily hemmed quilts for her quilting group.

She is survived by a sister-in-law, Geneva Pomeroy, five nieces and four nephews, and many grand-nieces and -nephews.

Family and friends are invited to sign Carol’s book at www.bonnersferryfuneralhome.com

Arrangements are being made by Bonners Ferry Funeral Home. The family asks that no flowers be sent, but cards can be mailed to Carol's niece, Carolyn Pomeroy, at 24 Creekwood Square/ Cincinnati, OH 45246.

Remembrances can be made in Carol's memory to Trinity Lutheran Church, 6784 Cody St., Bonners Ferry, ID 83805.