Carrol Ann Banta

Carrol Ann (Rye) Banta age 83 passed away November 6, 2024. Carrol was born during The Armistice Day blizzard of 1940 when her mom was visiting Carrol’s aunt in Mankato, MN. 

Carrol’s parents lived in Park Rapids when she was born but moved to Lake Crystal, MN where she grew up and went to school, elementary through high school. In 1958 – 1959 she continued her education at Gustavus College in St. Peter, MN. Before and after college Carrol worked at Minnesota Valley Turkey Growers Association and also taught ballroom dance at Arthur Murray Dance Studio. After marrying Richard Banta in 1960 she worked at Telex-Aemco in Mankato doing fabrication, setting up machines. In 1967 her main place of work was Bird’s Eye in Waseca where she did MANY jobs until she retired in 1985. In 2000-2007 she worked at Brown Printing in Waseca in the bindery as a trainer. During all of the time she was at these main places of employment Carrol had numerous bartending jobs in this area, and sold Home Interiors, Avon, Pampered Chef and Tupperware.

Carrol had a fondness for animals. She had an artic fox named Jake, a domestic skunk, racoons, a goat, 4 horses (which she enjoyed riding), two dogs and her favorite cats Spook, Scoot, Buddy and Lexi. If you ever tasted her chocolate chip cookies or homemade calico beans, you know she liked to bake and cook. She lived on a lake so there was fishing, sunsets, listening to different genres of music and looking at stars. 

Carrol loved her family. She has two sons Rick and Brett(Debbie) who live in Oregon and has a grandson Andrew, granddaughter Alley and great-granddaughter Brooklynn. She has a brother Gary (Terri) and a sister-in-law Sandra Rye. She is preceded in death by her father Gordon, her mother Emma Anna Kulack Rye, brothers Gordon and Harold and in recent years tragically lost her grandson Anthony. A party to celebrate her life is in planning.