Carolyn Meacham lived a life never expected.  Born in a rural farming community in South Greenfield, Missouri her life looked destined to be a part of the world she grew up experiencing.  That all changed when she married Ralph Meacham and began a life as the wife of a soldier.  Her path took her to Europe and South East Asia and various states in the USA.  The last duty station took them to California where they settled in the town of Paso Robles.

Moving households was part of Army life and occurred every one to three years.  It was up to Carolyn to orchestrate the moves from the discarding of possessions to meet weight limits, verifying all had their inoculations, getting paperwork and passports organized, gathering school records and corralling kids to get from point A to B, usually without Ralph as he went ahead to the new location.  There were many months and a year during wartime that Ralph was absent from the family due to calls of duty, usually leaving her and her children in remote locations, from the middle of rice paddies to the edges of swamps, occasionally in civilian towns and cities and sometimes on military posts.

Daily life with five children took persistence and hard work.  Five children meant five loads of laundry a day, the house to clean, groceries and meals to prepare.  There was little or no time for her own interests.  Carolyn was stoic, loyal and hard working.  She took inspiration in her family lineage and the accomplishments of her ancestors.  She treasured her youth and her connections to her siblings. She wrote weekly to her mother, no matter where she lived in the world.

Her five children all married, and grandchildren and great-grandchildren came into her life.  Her eldest son DeWayne Meacham married Judith (Weber) Meacham and they raised grandchildren Ruth and Heather.  Susan Meacham married Bob Barker and raised grandchild Jocelyn Barker who married Craig Betts.  Timothy Meacham married Terri (Pittinger) Meacham and raised Timothy Meacham who married Jenna (Barjam) Meacham and Steven Meacham who will greet his grandmother in heaven.  Travis Meacham raised Christopher Meacham and Rhiannon Meacham. Christopher is raising great-grandchildren Jason and James.  And the youngest child, Stacey Meacham married Kim (Sandles) Meacham who are raising Matilda Meacham.

As the child of Christopher Columbus McLemore and Katie Irene (Duffy) McLemore,  Carolyn grew up as the sixth of seven siblings; Lucille (McLemore) Walker, Mary Ellen (McLemore) Carl, Maxine (McLemore) Raab, Bobby (McLemore) Marlowe, Ruben-Nell (McLemore) Van Hooser who all preceded her in death and living siblings Christine (McLemore) Harper and CC McLemore.  Carolyn is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.

Carolyn will be buried next to her husband Ralph Meacham who preceded her in death in November 2003.  Their final resting place is in the Paso Robles Cemetery in the Veteran's Section.  A private service for Carolyn is scheduled for August 7.