Carolyn Schroeder

Visitation: Monday, May 16, 2011 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home in Broadus.

Funeral Services: Tuesday, May 17, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. at the Powder River Congregational Church in Broadus.

Carolyn Louise Wojcik Schroeder, age 64, of Broadus passed away on Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at her home near Broadus

In the springtime of the year as the snowmelt and rain give way to warmer temperatures, the countryside of southeastern Montana begins a yearly transformation from browns to greens. Scattered among the sagebrush and cottonwoods, almost seeming out of place but really exactly where they belong, grow wildflowers. None, however, leave as lasting an impression as the Lady Wildflower of Broadus, Carolyn Louise Wojcik Schroeder. Born on August 9, 1946, in Camp LeJeune, North Carolina, where her father was a Marine officer, Carolyns life would take her from the southern yalls to the Wisconsin you betchas and to the southern California Hang loose, before she finally settled home with Montana's Howdy dos.

Throughout that adventure she carried with her a love for animals, a hope for the future, and the desire to lend a hand where needed. She was not afraid of opposition, and if she were, she didn't let it stop her from striving to do her best. People have said often of Carolyn, Ive never met a more generous person in my life, and She was genuinely interested in me and my life. She wanted to share what she had, whether it was a time of plenty or a time of drought. What was Carolyns was freely offered.

Carolyn attended Fallbrook Union High School in Fallbrook, California, before attending Cal Poli in San Luis Obispo, California. She was proud of her formal education, but truth be told, preferred to learn things by experience rather than by the book. For that reason, her life is full of adventure. A restless spirit, some would say. If she was restless, her heart was grounded in love for family and friends and for doing what she could to make this world a better place. In her life, she was a custom butcher, a massage therapist, and the owner and operator of a natural food restaurant. Lady Wildflower even drove a purple 18-wheeler with her late husband, David John Schroeder. They would carry Wisconsin cheese to sunny California and return to the ice and snow of Wisconsin with California produce. Finally in 2005, she moved to the ranch at the base of the Twin Buttes on East Powder River Road. Having never been really in the country, she hadnt realized just how much property she had bought. For her, a long way was across a football field. In her last adventure, she learned to measure in miles. She loved life, and wrote, Montana is in my blood now and I am home at last. I cannot imagine life without the daily unexpected challenge of owning and operating a ranch filled with joy and balanced with sorrow as well. Lady Wildflower had once bloomed.

Carolyn is preceded in death by her father Victor Frank Wojcik, husband, David Schroeder, brother-in-law Dennis McEuen, and a variety of dogs, cats and other animal friends that accompanied her on her lifes journeys. She is survived by her mother Charlotte Carlat (Ralph) of Broadus; her sisters Rebecca McEuen (Dennis) of Broadus and Evelyn Smith (Richard) of Cave Creek, Arizona; her brother Warren Wojcik (Pam) of Windomar, California; a great number of nephews, great-nephews and great-nieces from around the world.

Carolyn's love for all people and desire to anonymously help those in need were very much a part of who she is.

In lieu of flowers, please give a gift in her name to the building fund for the Broadus Volunteer Fire Department.