Carol Pfantz, age 86 of Grinnell, died on Tuesday, November 12, 2019 at Windsor Manor in Grinnell. A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 16, 2019 at the Smith Funeral Home in Grinnell with Pastor Jim Dotson officiating. Interment will be at Hazelwood Cemetery in Grinnell. Visitation will be held prior to her service at the Smith Funeral Home from 10:00 am until 11:00 am. Memorials may be designated to BGM Bear Closet or to Grinnell-Newburg Dollars for Scholars, mailed in care of the Smith Funeral Home, PO Box 368, Grinnell, Iowa 50112. Memories and condolences may be shared with Carol's family online at www.smithfh.com. Carol LaRue Farley was born the daughter of Emory and Helen (Ford) Farley on the family farm near Gilman, Iowa. The family moved to a farm near Malcom and she graduated from Grinnell High School with the class of 1951. She received a degree in education from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Carol was united in marriage to Merland Smith Pfantz at the Malcom Presbyterian Church in Malcom, Iowa on December 28, 1955. The couple lived near State Center, Iowa and Carol taught school at State Center schools. They later moved to the Farley family farm near Grinnell and Carol was a special education teacher at Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcom (BGM) Schools for several years until her retirement in 1980. Even though Carol did not have children, she considered every child she was blessed to have taught to be a child of hers. Her enjoyments were going to dances, attending events at the American Legion and Elks Lodge in Grinnell, and putting on events for others such as wedding and baby showers. She will be remembered for her strong will, kindness, and for her personal sacrifices to better the lives of others. Carol is survived by her sister, Carmen McGriff of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; several nieces and nephews; and brother-in-law, Clair Porter of Colorado Springs, Colorado. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Merland Pfantz in 2009; her infant son, Lewis Emory Pfantz; and her sister, Charlotte Porter.