Caroline (Carolyn) G Lidtka Hotchkin was reunited with those that went before her in the early morning hours of July 6, 2022, at Windsor Manor in Grinnell. Carolyn suffered from Alzheimer's, so had resided at Windsor Manor during the final stages of her disease. She was a strong, independent woman that lived to be 96 years old. She was always ready to go for a ride, especially if ice cream and/or music was involved. Mass of the Resurrection has been scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 12, at St. Mary Catholic Church in Grinnell with Rev. Ron Hodges, Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Colfax, officiating. Organist will be Marilyn Kriegel accompanied by the St. Mary Choir. Pallbearers will be Dustin Bailey, Matt Blankenfeld, Jason Kerr, Kaiden Peak, Izabelle Ramos, and Zach Story. Burial with military rites will be in Hazelwood Cemetery in Grinnell. Carolyn was born January 31, 1926, in Grinnell, to Virgil and Lucile (Phipps) Lidtka. She had two siblings, Elaine and Lavern. She attended her first year of school in the one room school now known as the Chester Royal Grange Hall. They lived in the house where she eventually raised her own family for a year, and moved to various locations around Grinnell and Malcom until she was 8, at which time the family moved just south of Madison Church, near Brooklyn where they lived until after she graduated at the age of 16. Carolyn, however, chose to finish her high school years in Grinnell. She worked as a nanny for the Delongs at the very start of their coat factory business and lived with her Phipps grandparents, near Arbor Lake. Carolyn graduated in 1943, after starring in the senior play as the visiting actress in "The Whole Town's Talking." After graduation, Carolyn attended Broadlawns Army Corp Nurses Training program to become a Registered Nurse. Her hope was to go overseas when she finished, but the war ended before she was able to go. She was honored as a veteran during her final hours, anyway. Carolyn met Bernard Hotchkin when she was 14 years old, but her mom wouldn't let her start dating until she was 16. They were married on June 15, 1946 at St. Mary's Catholic Church when he came home from the Air Corp, WWII and she was in her last year of nurses training. Carolyn and Bernard had 7 children during their 68 years together. LaRita, Bill and Wil, Martha, Philip, Edward and Helen Jo. At one point she had 4 children ages 5 and under and was drowning in cloth diapers and glass baby bottles. In 1960, they moved to her dream home on the family farm, 2 miles north of Grinnell on Hwy. 146. Carolyn waited until all of her children were in school before resuming her nursing career, ten worked at St. Francis Hospital until they hired her to be the RN Supervisor at the new Grinnell General Hospital (now Unity Point.) She held that position until she retired. Carolyn was never one to sit and do nothing. She was always busy gardening, sewing, knitting, and taking care of her home. Her hands were always busy. She and Bernard also enjoyed evenings with friends and family playing cards, camping, going out to eat and especially dancing. Upon retirement, they traveled full-time in their RV for 17 years, wintering in Yuma, AZ and traveling to Alaska twice. They also went overseas to do genealogy research in Switzerland and England. She was a member of the St. Mary Catholic Church, Chester Royal Grange, and a Poll Worker for the Democratic Party. Carolyn will always be remembered for her strong work ethic, great sense of humor, and contagious laugh, grabbing you for a dance on the kitchen floor, and her loving, gentle spirit. Carolyn is preceded in death by her husband, Bernard, twin sons, William (Bill) and Wilbur (Wil), her parents, sister Elaine and brother-in-law, Earl Heishman, son in law, Kenneth Jones, and a grandchild, Jason. Survivors include daughters, LaRita (Jim) Steiner, Martha (Wallace) Woods, and Helen Jo Hotchkin; sons, Philip (Beth) Hotchkin and Edward Hotchkin; her brother, Lavern Lidtka; and sister-in law, Colleen; nine grandchildren, Dustin Hotchkin, Sara Jones, Jennifer Olivieri, Kiley Ingle, Aaron (Julie) Hotchkin, Alison (Matt) Blankenfeld, Dustin (Stephanie) Bailey, and Jessica (Zach) Story; 13 great-grandchildren, Austin (Elyse) Frausct, Jason Kerr, Izabelle (Aaron) Ramos, Issac Bryant, Kaiden Peak, Keon Jones, Jaxstin DePooter, Harper Ingle, Avelyn and Liam Blankenfeld, Lenyx and Alayna Story, and Charlie Bailey; and three great-great-grandchildren-, Jasper, Arlo, and Ren Frascht. Carolyn also leaves behind many nieces, nephews and cousins. She will be greatly missed.