Carol Ann Makarick

Carol Ann Makarick, age 91, of Batesville, Arkansas passed away on March 28, 2025. She was born May 25, 1933 in Newark, New Jersey to Thomas Whitfield Beatty and Myrtle Sexton Beatty. She was a loving mother and wife, which were her proudest roles. In New Jersey, she worked for RCA, Bethlehem Township municipality, and attorney Raymond Drake. She is preceded in death by her mother and father, sister Betty Conley (2005), sister Joyce Omohundro (2011), first husband John Makarick (1999), and oldest son Jon Makarick (1996). Her second husband M.C. Conyers died on February 15, 2025. When she learned of his death, she said she felt like a piece of her body and soul broke off and floated away.

Survivors include daughter Lynn A. Makarick (Batesville, AR), son Scott W. Makarick (Hammondsport, NY), daughter Lori J. Makarick (Fort Collins, CO), sister Colleen Brunsvold (Manassas, VA), 10 grandchildren, 10 great grandchildren, along with a host of other relatives and friends who miss her dearly.

She spent her childhood in West Portal, NJ, growing up without plumbing in their home, but with a well decorated two-seater outhouse a short walk away from the house. She went to Hampton high school and during summers she could be found with her sisters and friends at Van’s pool, one of the largest pools on the east coast, fed by spring water. She was a life guard and a beautiful diver, loving pools, rivers, and the ocean. As an act of mild rebellion, she added an “e” to the end of her first name without telling anyone, and even her children didn’t know that was not her given name spelling until recently. A long-ago teacher told her that it “fancied- up” Carol.

Her family enjoyed picnics, visiting on porches, spending time outside, and getting together “on the top of the hill.” Wherever they were, you could hear the laughter from a good distance away. When she and her sisters talked on the phone, raucous laughter was a hallmark of every call. Carol LOVED to clean and do laundry, and she prided herself on her spotless homes, yards, and cars. Her mother used to say, “Carol has a spring in her butt” because she never sat down, always finding things to keep her busy. She and her first husband John, lived in a family-built house on his family’s farm in Flemington, NJ. Their four children grew up enjoying the river and fields, the farm animals, and the rural landscape. After John’s mom and brother tragically died in 1976, the family moved into the house next to Carol’s parents.

Carol walked every day, often alone, but she also loved it when anyone wanted to join her. Humor and walking were her tonics, with friends and family the elixir. She owned two cars, both Honda Preludes, and each had several hundred thousand miles on them yet the interiors looked and smelled new. She loved to drive, with the sun roof open and the radio playing. She wouldn’t hesitate driving from NJ to AR, VA, CO, MO, WI, AZ, FL, or other distant states, often driving straight through because she was having so much fun – a true road trip master. One of her favorite trips was with her best friend Hella and daughter Lori, taking the ferry from WA to AK, and then driving thousands of miles through the state. She loved spending time at the ocean, with her earlier beach years at the Jersey shore, and later in life enjoying a favorite family spot in Destin, Florida. She would share the small rented condo with anyone who could join her, often leading to people sleeping on floors in every room, and then meeting up with her sister’s family at the beach or on a balcony overlooking the ocean.

She met her match in M.C. Conyers, who asked her to dance to live music one summer day in 1986, and even with a broken toe, she two-stepped into a life-long romance. She finally moved to Arkansas to be with him in 2001, and together they continued to spend time on their porch, enjoying the little creek in the back, watching the bluebirds nest and the cardinals forage, and growing a little garden and tending beautiful flowers. Carol may have had the only storage shed in Arkansas with curtains and candles in the windows. They took care of a puppy from the local Humane Society “for a weekend” so it could heal from a surgery on its back end, and that dog, Clover, was the love of their lives. Clover was a sweet, gentle giant with a disabled back end that mom walked every day.

Carol never had any health issues until she turned 81, and she was proud to say that wine and hot dogs, with mustard and raw onions, helped get her that far! Until she turned 90, she was the full-time care-giver for M.C., who had Parkinson’s disease. It was pancreatic cancer that took her energy and strength in the last year of her life, but even during that battle, she found light and laughter and brightened the days of everyone who met and encountered her.

In her final days, when asked for words of wisdom, she said, “walk a lot and be happy.” She wanted everyone to get the most out of every day, to laugh, to remember to only use cold water for laundry, and to make sure the stove and grill burners are off. Her kids will always fondly think of her and hear a favorite phrase…. “if I were you…” and know she was probably right, and then they will laugh a little.

Carol passed in her home surrounded by her 3 living children, who held her hands and felt her last breath with her, a beautiful passing for an amazing human.

The family is forever grateful to Arkansas Hospice, for the exceptional care they provided to both M.C. and Carol with an e. If a remembrance is desired, please consider a donation to Arkansas Hospice or your local hospice.

Arrangements by Qualls Funeral Homes.