Carol Putler Obituary (1931 – 2022) – Modesto, CA

Carol Putler
December 7, 1931 – August 2, 2022
Modesto, California – Carol was born on what would become known as “Pearl Harbor Day” in Santa Maria to Norris and Doris Klink. As a young child, she lived in several communities (as far south as Arroyo Grande and as far north as Eugene, Oregon) as a result of her father’s employment as a publisher and seller of advertising in local newspapers. Her family ultimately settled in Modesto when she was 11, where she graduated from Roosevelt Junior High School, Modesto High School, and Modesto Junior College.
After arriving in Modesto, Carol began to develop a life-long interest in tennis, including playing for the Fred Earl coached team at Modesto Junior College from 1948 to 1950. As a result of her involvement in tennis, Carol decided to major in Physical Education , and transferred to Fresno State College. There, Carol was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.
One summer during college, Carol was attending summer school and happened to enter a local pharmacy, where she met a clerk in the store who was also a Fresno State student by the name of Ray Putler. They discovered they had a number of mutual acquaintances. After that first encounter, one thing led to another, and they were married in June of 1953, five days after Carol’s college graduation. They enjoyed 60 years of life together, until Ray’s death in 2013.
After the wedding they returned to Fresno, where Carol substitute taught PE and Health in local high schools. A year later, Ray decided to return to school and they moved to the LA area where he enrolled in the USC Dental School. While Ray attended USC, Carol PE taught at Compton Junior High School in Compton. After Ray’s graduation, they returned to Fresno and started a family, having two sons.
In 1965 they decided to move back to Carol’s hometown of Modesto, where they both resided for the remainder of their lives. They became members of the Modesto Racquet Club (allowing Carol to continue to be an avid tennis player), and through the Racquet Club, they both became skiers and as time went on, Carol slowly transitioned from tennis to golf. During this time Carol also became an avid walker, attempting to run as many of her errands as possible on foot. Early on, people would stop and ask her if she needed a lift, but eventually she became known as the “walking lady” in parts of town. In addition to her athletic activities, Carol volunteered through the former Family Services League and was a dedicated donor to Delta Blood Bank. Her family and friends will remember her as an avid cook (she had a library with hundreds of cookbooks) who loved to entertain (she never met a dinner party she didn’t like). Later in life she also took an interest in bridge, and developed a number of friendships as a result.
Carol died peacefully in Modesto, and is survived by her sons Dan Putler (and his wife Liza Blaney) of Sunnyvale and Tom Putler (and his fiancée Linda Alaniz) of Turlock; her grandchildren Rosemary Putler (and her husband Erik Boneff) of Boston and Eric Putler of New York City; her sister in law Marianne Klink of Modesto; and many nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her husband Ray Putler and her brother John Klink.
A celebration of life will be held for Carol starting at Noon on October 1 in Modesto. For additional information about this event, please call (209) 900-3435. In remembrance of Carol’s life, the family asks that any charitable donations be made to the Modesto Junior College Foundation (Morris Memorial Building East Campus – Room 105, 435 College Avenue, Modesto, CA 95350; https://modestojcfoundation.org/) in her name, or to another charity of the givers choice.

Published by Modesto Bee from Aug. 19 to Aug. 21, 2022.

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