Carol Jean Starkey Ivey, BHS 1970

Carol Jean Starkey Ivey, BHS 1970 March 28, 1952 - July 22, 2014 Carole Ivey passed away suddenly yesterday, Tuesday, July 22, at her home in Valencia. Carole began life near the Minnesota/Iowa border on the family farm. After her father's death in 1961 she moved to California with her mother and younger brother in 1963, and settled in Burbank in 1964 on Jamestown Rd. She began 7th grade at John Muir with most of us that Fall, now almost 50 years ago. In 9th grade she and Randy Ivey became a lifelong couple. Carole was a Trojan, graduating from the University of Southern California in 1974, where she began after graduatuon from BHS in 1970. That summer after USC graduation she and Randy were married at Salem Lutheran Church in Glendale on August 10, 1974. Carole's passing comes less than three weeks before their 40th wedding anniversary. Besides Randy, Carole leaves their daughter, Megan, age 30; their son, Travis, age 34, his wife, Tina, and their children - Carole's granddaughter, Makenna, and grandson, Gavin, ages 10 and 7; her brother, Roger Starkey (BHS '72), his wife and their family; her aunt, Karen of Arizona; her brother-in-law, Mike Ivey (BHS '72), his wife and their family; her brother-in-law, Jim Dyer (BHS '69), and his family; and three step-brothers and their families. Carole's mother passed away less than a year ago, on August 8, 2013. Her step-father passed away five years before that, also on August 8, in 2008. Sister-in-law, Debi Ivey Dyer, passed away in 2009. In early March of this year Carole received the confirmation after testing that she had an aortic aneurysm. It was determined that she would undergo two surgeries, sort of a phase 1 and a phase 2, to repair/correct the aneurysm. Last Wednesday, July 16, she had the first surgery at Kaiser-Sunset Hospital in the Hollywood area. That surgery went well, and accomplished what was desired. On Friday the 18th Carole's close friend, Donna Snyder Moore (BHS '71) took Carole home from the hospital. The second surgery was scheduled for September 4. Two days ago, on Monday afternoon, I spoke to Carole on the phone, and we talked for about 45 minutes. She was in good spirits, although sore all over from her surgery. Little did I know that would be the last time I would talk to her. Carole's daughter, Megan, had been staying overnight with her since she got home from the hospital on Friday. Yesterday morning before Megan left for work she saw Carole. Later on when Megan tried to reach Carole by phone several times, without success, she called nearby friends and asked them to check on Carole. The friend went in Carole's home and found her on the sofa, already gone. The fire department arrived and confirmed her passing. It was determined that the aneurysm had ruptured, taking her so suddenly. Of course a total shock to all of Carole's family.

About the beginning of June Randy began feeling poorly. They saw his doctor, blood tests were taken, but no problem was pinned down. He kept getting worse at home. On Father's Day, June 15, he was taken to the ER at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Valencia. He was admitted into ICU by that evening. Randy is a severe diabetic, and it was soon determined that he had Strep B infection probably caused from a "wound" on his leg that had already gone into Sepsis (blood infection) by the time he entered the hospital. The next morning he was placed on a ventilator. He remained in ICU at Henry Mayo Newhall for a week, and then was moved by an ICU ambulance down to Kaiser Hospital in Panorama City to their ICU. I happened to be there when that took place. Randy remained there for over four more weeks, almost the entire time in the ICU on the ventilator, with a couple of brief times in a "step-down" unit and off the vent. I last saw him a week ago Friday when Janet Di Sarro and I saw him in the ICU again. He has been sedated, and also is not fully coherent yet after being so ill for so long. Two days ago he was finally moved to a rehab facility, but faces a long recovery after being this sick. He is still not fully aware or fully coherent. Randy hasn't been told yet about Carole's death. Those of you who pray, please do so for Randy, for Megan and Travis as they face the loss of their mother who was very close to both of them, and for them as they face having to tell Randy at some point what has happened to Carole.