Carol Field

As a compassionate and well respected chiropractor, Dr. Carol Field tirelessly cared for the people of the St. Johns area for 20 years. Beyond this distinction, however, Carol was a passionate, caring, determined woman who dedicated her life to helping others. She had a generous spirit and tremendously big heart and loved to give of her time and talents. Through the delights and heartaches of life, Carol never asked “Why me?” She was content to live in the moment, appreciating the family, friends and events that brought her life immeasurable joy.

In the year 1949, as the country was recovering from the effects of World War II, Harry S. Truman was starting his term in the oval office as the 33rd President of the United States, and George Orwell had just published his novel “1984.” In Omaha, Nebraska, Mr. and Mrs. William H. McClurg were focusing on something of even more importance, the birth of their beautiful daughter, Carol, on January 20, 1949. An only child, Carol enjoyed a typical childhood of the time, growing up in De Moines, Iowa. While her mother stayed home to care for her, her father earned a living as a restaurant supply salesman.

Carol’s father had great expectations for her future, and she worked hard to make him proud. After several years of lessons, she became quite proficient at playing the piano. Carol also excelled greatly in her studies and participated in drama and choir in high school. After graduating in 1967, she went on to attend Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor Degree in Music Education in 1971. Carol then taught in a rural school for a year, but soon realized that teaching wasn’t something she wanted to do. So it was back to college for her. She pursued a second Bachelor Degree in Music Therapy at Michigan State University, which she earned in 1973.

It was while on campus at MSU that Carol met the love of her life, John M. Field. In order to earn money while in school, Carol cleaned apartments and she stopped one day to talk to her boss and subsequently met his friend, John. Sparks flew the moment the two met, and after a whirlwind courtship of only 2 months, Carol and John were happily married. As the newlyweds settled into married life together, Carol put her new degree to use working at the Kalamazoo State Hospital; she commuted on the weekends back home. Although she enjoyed her work, eventually Carol left the hospital and began teaching nursery school and giving piano lessons in St. Johns. This wasn’t busy enough for Carol though. She went and got her social worker’s license and began working at the Big Brother’s and Big Sister’s organization in Clinton County. Her zest and drive soon earned her the position of Executive Director, which she held for over 5 years.

Anyone who knew Carol knew it wasn’t in her nature to complain or feel sorry for herself. Even in her darkest moments, after losing two infant children she so badly wanted, she pulled herself up by her bootstraps and carried on. She would say “get up and get on with it.” It was at this saddened time that Carol made the pledge to “dedicate her life to helping as many people as she could.” Her inspiration came from a local chiropractor, who helped heal her back after an injury. Soon, Carol and John moved for a time to Spartanburg, South Carolina, where she attended Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic. After graduating magna cum laude and passing the National Boards for her Michigan license as a Doctor of Chiropractic in 1987, Carol and John returned to St. Johns to open her practice in October 1987. With John as her Office Manager, Carol worked tirelessly for 20 years, helping as many as 1,200 clients in the area. However, the long hours eventually caught up with Carol and she developed arthritis in her joints, causing her to have to cut back and take it easy at work. After a long fulfilling career, Carol and John retired from the practice in October 2007.

Being idle was not always easy for Carol. She liked to keep busy and active doing something she loved, liked gardening, cuddling with her beloved cats, and volunteering countless hours on the "Polar Express" (No. 1225) in Owasso. For many years, she and John were avid cyclists and loved to go skiing, camping and hiking, particularly in the Upper Peninsula. After experiencing a bad fall on one of their bike rides, Carol underwent head surgery, and thereafter suffered with a series of small strokes.

Armed with little more than instinctive empathy and a big heart, Carol left the world a more beautiful, loving place than she found it. She will be greatly missed.

Beloved wife and mother, Carol Field passed from this life at home in bed in the arms of her one true love, as was her greatest wish, on Thursday, July 7, 2011. She is survived by her husband of 38 years, John M. Field of St. Johns; brother and sister-in-law, Ed and Rebecca Wood of Barryton, MI; and brother and sister-in-law, Matt and Sue Field of Mt. Pleasant, MI; two cousins, Marigail Jury of Loveland Colorado, and Bruce McClurg of Redlands, California; and was proceeded in death by her infant daughter, Mary, and infant son, Marshall, and her parents, Mr. & Mrs. William H. McClurg of Des Moines, Iowa, mother and father-in-law, Max and Harriet Field, and brother-in-law, Mark Field.

Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, July 11, at the First United Methodist Church of St. Johns, with Pastor Lori Sykes officiating, burial at Mt. Rest Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the Osgood Funeral Home in St. Johns from 6-8 p.m. on Saturday, July 9, and 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, July 10. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in her name to the Capital Area Humane Society. To learn more about Dr. Carol Field and view her Life Story film, please visit her personal webpage at www.lifestorynet.com/memories/71803. The family was served by The Osgood Funeral Homes.