Carolyn L. Hasselbrink

Carolyn L. Hasselbrink, 80, passed away in Phoenix, Arizona, on April 22, 2025. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m., Sunday, June 8, 2025, at the Wallace Family Funeral Home and Crematory. Burial will be held at Hazelwood Cemetery in Grinnell. In lieu of flowers, memorials to the Newton Arboretum may be left at the funeral home the day of the service.

Carolyn was born on February 26, 1945, to Donald and Edith (Kaisand) Hasselbrink, and grew up on her parent’s farm in Grinnell, along with her sister, Margaret Hasselbrink Irvin. She loved to help her parents on their family’s farm, where she sometimes helped her dad by driving the tractor. Her aunt, Helen Sparks, and her cousins, Roger and Ronald Sparks, lived nearby, so thecousins grew up more like siblings than cousins. When Roger and Ron had children of their own, Carolyn joyously took on a role of aunt to their children and grandchildren.

As a child, Carolyn was active in 4-H, not only showing lambs at the fair, but also attending and later working as a counselor at a 4-H camp. After discovering her knack for working with the children at camp, Carolyn decided to attend Drake University in Des Moines, to earn her degree in education. She studied alongside her cousins, Ron and Roger, who were also enrolled at Drake. While studying at the university, Carolyn and her cousins often spent time with her Aunt Mildred (Dode), where they all enjoyed watching and laughing along with favorite TV shows like “The Andy Griffith Show”.

After graduation, Carolyn went on to spend her career teaching elementary school kids and infusing every year’s classroom with her unwavering good nature and patience. After a long career in education, Carolyn opted to escape the Central Iowa winters, and followed her brother and sister-in-law, Ray and Margaret Irvin, to retire in Arizona. However, she faithfully kept in contact with her loved ones back in the Midwest, sending emails, gifts, and the frequent cherished letter, telling each recipient all about her walks around the pond, the ducks she saw, the weather, and all the adventures big and small that she experienced. She took time to visit whenever she could, usually staying with Roger and his wife, Connie.

Carolyn was preceded in death by her parents, Don and Edith Hasselbrink; her sister, Margaret; her cousins, Ron and Roger Sparks; and her aunts, Helen and Mildred. She will be greatly missed by her surviving family and friends, among them her brother-in-law, Ray Irvin and her cousins, Kelly Sparks, Mike Sparks, Matt Sparks, Bradley Sparks, and Nathan Sparks.