Obituary of Carol Louise Downey

On May 29, 2018, Carol Louise Downey, resident of Santa Cruz, California, passed to the stars and into the arms of her parents, Charles and Beverly Downey. Carol was a native Santa Cruzan, born at Dominican Hospital when it was located where Branciforte Plaza is now. She lived her entire life in Santa Cruz and was a graduate of the class of 1982 from Santa Cruz High. During high school Carol was very active in sports. She was a fast runner in track and field, a great surfer and an avid cyclist. After high school, Carol studied Communications at San Jose State University. She also worked in her father's Insurance Agency, Downey, Cavadias & Deane. Carol found that she enjoyed working with computers and software applications and eventually became an accounting consultant working for many local companies. Carol was adventurous and loved to travel. She went to Acapulco when she was just 18, by herself, before meeting up with friends. She also went on a surfing trip with friends to Australia, New Zealand and Bali where she earned the nickname "Kuta Carol". She also traveled to Scotland, Berlin and worked for a short time down in Guadalajara, Mexico. Carol was a witty person with a great sense of humor who loved to dance, but her true passion was cooking... Carol could whip up anything at any time and you knew it would be delicious. Carol was a HUGE animal lover and loved her dogs as well as her cats. She truly loved and cared about others with her huge, sweet heart, and showed it, often, with her infectious smile! Carol is preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Beverly Downey, and is survived by her brother Jeff Downey, sister Kathryn Downey, cousins Donald and Carol Starks of Colorado and partner Eric Beautz. Services will be Saturday, July 21, 2018, at 12 Noon at Messiah Lutheran Church, 801 High Street, Santa Cruz, California. Services will be posted on social media as well as on the Santa Cruz Memorial Park website (www.scmemorial.com). In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Santa Cruz County SPCA.