Carol Ann Felten

It is with heavy hearts that we announce Carol Ann Felten has gone to be with her Lord & Savior. She passed peacefully in her sleep in the early morning of Thursday, January 22, 2026, at her home on the farm near Cashton, Wisconsin. 

Carol Ann was born in Windsor, Ontario on July 24, 1939, to William Henry & Elizabeth Jean (Atkinson) Gray, the second-born of seven girls. Her family moved to Atlanta, Georgia when she was 16 years old. She went to college and became a nurse before getting married and starting her family in Wausau, Wisconsin. 

She married her husband, Ronald Leslie Felten, on June 8, 1963, in Atlanta, Georgia. They were together nearly 58 years before his passing in 2021.  Ron, Carol, and their church in Wausau decided to start a bible camp in the Westby area. In 1970, Ron and his dad Carl laid the first foundational stones of Living Waters Bible Camp. In 1972, Ron and Carol moved to their farm in the Cashton area with their two daughters, Ellen & Amy.   

Over the years they fostered, then adopted kids, expanding the family to a grand total of 23 children – 5 birth daughters, 1 foster daughter, the rest adopted. They once had as many as 17 children living with them on the farm! 

Carol Ann was a strong Christian woman and a patriot; she taught her children to honor and love the Lord, to love America and to honor the Flag and what it stands for. 

She homeschooled many of the children, and made it seem easy! She loved having her own “one-room schoolhouse,” complete with the old-fashioned school desks. She taught all the subjects, as well as homemaking skills such as cooking, preserving food, and sewing. Carol enjoyed taking the kids on field trips, often on her own. People marveled at how well-behaved they were, and that she was the only adult with so many (7-12+ kids at a time!). She was often asked if she ran a daycare… their eyes would widen in disbelief when she replied “no, these are all mine.” 

In winter she would take the kids skiing – cross-country and downhill; Ron would take them ice-skating on nearby Jersey lake. Afterward she would make hot cocoa and read to them by the fire – old classics like Little Women, Cheaper by the Dozen, and Little House on the Prairie. 

They had somewhat of a hobby farm, raising a variety of animals – some for food but many for pets. Carol’s favorites were the horses, St. Bernard dogs, French Lop rabbits, and Pygmy goats. 

For many years they made maple syrup: collecting the sap buckets with a horse-team, then boiling it down on the big stone fireplace in the backyard. They had a big vegetable garden – the whole family helping with the planting, growing, weeding, harvesting, freezing, and canning. 

Carol was phenomenal at keeping things organized. Every chore and maintenance job one might need done for a large family and a farm, were written on 3x5 cards and kept in a filing box. Every morning, she had a small stack of cards (chores) for each child, according to their ages and skill levels. It is something that her children joke about and sometimes still roll their eyes at. 

Over the years, Carol Ann & Ron did a lot with local kids, picking them up from school to go hang out on the farm. They also had the Bible camp kids come to the farm every summer, each camp coming for an afternoon. At the farm they would play games, enjoy the animals, go on a hayride, and ride horses. Ron would close out their time in the evening with a message of God’s love and salvation.

In more recent years, camp kids came in small groups for early morning horse rides with Carol Ann. They rode along the trails, stopping halfway at “The Point” where Carol cooked a cowboy breakfast over a campfire, and Ron shared a message of God’s love.

Carol Ann had many flower gardens on the farm where she planted cosmos, marigolds, petunias, and more. Carol also had a love for birds. She and Rebecca (daughter) put out bird feeders every winter, watching and making note of the different species that came by. Some of her favorite birds were the little Juncos in winter and in late spring, the Jenny (House) Wren and Rose-Breasted Grosbeak. 

In her later years, Carol Ann loved watching old shows like Andy Griffith, and old Western movies, especially those with John Wayne. Skyla (granddaughter) has many fond memories of watching these with her grandma when her mom was working late. 

Carol loved sitting outside in the sunshine, especially when she had family and/or friends to sit and visit with. She loved having so many of her grandchildren around daily. She loved sitting in front of her fireplace, enjoying the warm fire while she listened to favorite old hymns on Pandora.

There’s so much more that could be shared… she was an amazing woman in so many ways, and she will be dearly missed. I imagine the celebration in heaven as she was welcomed home, and her joy in seeing her loved ones who were waiting for her there. 

Carol is survived by her children – Daughters: Ellen Hanson, Amy Krause, Katie Felten, Kris Mowery, Rebecca Felten, Brenda Knautz, Suzi Felten, J-Mee Felten, Jin-Nee Williams, Luciana Felten, Vanusa Aponte, Sandra Vernier, & Mei-Ling Felten; and Sons: John (Roth), Won, Min, Paulo, Alex, Devin, Jesse, Nicholas, & Joey Felten; and by her sisters: Gayle Laverlochere, Colleen Kaiser, and Susan Green. She also has numerous grandchildren – many of whom were around the farm very regularly throughout their lives – and a few great-grandchildren.

Carol is preceded in death by her husband Ronald Felten, adopted daughter Mandy Joy Felten, granddaughter Gabriella Felten; and by her sisters: Sharon Sims, Lola Miller, and Wanda Filz. 

Special Thanks: To Jason, Kris & children Willy, Boyd, Liberty, Lincoln, & Eva – for all you have done to care for Ron & Carol as they aged, for taking care of the farm & everything else too much to mention. To Bethany & her boys Dallas & Roman – for all your care, visits, & all the help with the flower gardens, the horse program & so much more. To Amy, for all your help with the flower gardens, Carol’s personal care, movie nights at your house, & for taking her to the Worship nights at Abts. She had a lot of fun with you. To Rebecca & Skyla, for always checking in & visiting, bringing flowers & Hershey bars, wood for the fire, seed for the birds, & so much more. You all have been such a blessing!

To all others not mentioned: Thank you, for everything. You are loved & appreciated. 

In lieu of flowers memorials to Living Waters Bible Camp are preferred. 

A Celebration of Life will be held at Living Waters Bible Camp on April 19, 2026. More details to come.  

Roth Family Cremation Center and Funeral Services is assisting the family. 

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.