Carol Dunham

Carol Eskridge Dunham, 66, passed away after a 3 week battle with COVID-19 on Sunday, November 1, 2020.

Carol Eskridge was born in Oklahoma City on January 21, 1954, to Margaret (Fischer) and Dr. James B. Eskridge III, just minutes after her fraternal twin Paul—the 3rd and 4th born of six siblings. She was a proud alumna of Nichols Hills Elementary and graduated from John Marshall High School in Oklahoma City in 1972. She also held many fond memories of summers at Camp Nakanawa in Tennessee.

In 1976, Carol began the next chapter of her joyful life when she married her best friend Stephen Russell Dunham. She and Steve established their home in Oklahoma City and then Tulsa where they raised two daughters. Over a 25+ year span until retirement Carol worked as an administrative assistant, primarily at Tulsa-area churches. One such position was at Asbury United Methodist Church, where she and her family were members.

In her free time, Carol was passionate about exploring her creativity with knitting, painting, gardening, and sewing, often to share with friends and family. She also contributed artistic talents to her eldest daughter’s school choirs and musicals, including stagecraft and costume design. As her first name would suggest, she loved music and “making a joyful noise” and was in choirs over the years.

Carol’s two daughters were always her greatest passion, however—she had a wellspring of love for her girls that later extended to her grandchildren. Being “G-Ma” brought so much joy to her life. She enjoyed planning road trips with Steve, primarily to visit family and friends, but also to check out automobile museums and presidential libraries along the way. Her husband’s Green Mountain (Iowa) High School class of ‘66 called her an honorary member because of her involvement in their reunions. The couple was looking forward to their 44th wedding anniversary at the end of November.

Carol will be remembered as a beautiful soul who made everyone, even acquaintances, feel understood and valuable; who was generous of spirit and quick to earnest prayer; and who never failed to be kind and good-humored even as she struggled with chronic pain for many years. Above all, Carol was a woman of great hope and deep, enduring faith—not only in God, but in her fellow humans as well.

Carol was preceded in death by her parents Jim and Margaret, her youngest brother David, and her father-in-law William Dunham. She is survived by her husband Stephen; her two daughters: Stephanie Dunham of the home, and Sarah Goodpasture (Christopher) of Owasso, OK; her three grandchildren Emily, Ella and William Goodpasture; four siblings: James Eskridge IV (Marian) of Denver, CO, Nancy Jones of Edmond, OK, Paul Eskridge (Amy) of Mahopac, NY, and Robert Eskridge (Janet) of Edmond, OK; many adoring cousins, nieces and nephews; and mother-in-law Phyllis Dunham of Marshalltown, IA.

In light of the pandemic that took Carol’s life, an online Zoom memorial service is planned, with an in-person gathering to be held at a later date when it is safer to do so. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Carol’s name to the John 3:16 Mission at john316mission.org or the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma at okfoodbank.org, organizations that fight hunger in the Tulsa area.