Carol Ann Byrne Obituary

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Carol Ann Byrne of Berkeley, California, who passed away on August 30, 2023, at the age of 89, leaving to mourn family and friends. Family and friends are welcome to leave their condolences on this memorial page and share them with the family.

She was loved and cherished by many people including: her parents, Kenneth Schmeling and Genevieve Schmeling; her brothers, Gene and Bill; her former husband Richard Thoreson; her children, Wally, Bonnie, Carol, Berkeley and Starr King Unitarian Seminary; her stepchildren, Karen, Tony and Chris Williams; her husband R. Bruce Williams of Oakland, CA; her children, Bonita Thoreson (Amir Alexander) of Los Angeles, CA and Wallace Thoreson (Mary Green) of Omaha, NE; her brother Donald Schmeling (Ursula) of Minneapolis, MN; her grandchildren, William Thoreson-Green (Chun Ying Wang) of Chicago, IL, Elisabeth Thoreson-Green of Washington, DC, Jordan Alexander of Minneapolis, MN and Ella Alexander of Bergen, Norway; and her great grandchild Sofia Jia Rui Thoreson.

They were generous philanthropists, donating half their income to charity for many years (prompting numerous audits by skeptical IRS agents).