Carolyn Lee Brinkman

Carolyn Lee Brinkman, 84, died early Friday morning, November 29, at the Bloomington Hospice House. She was born July 16, 1935, to Luella Trudell and Clarence Carson in Santee Nebraska. She grew up in Santee and attended school in Niobrara, Nebraska. She graduated from Wayne State (Nebraska) College where she met her first husband, Jack Backer. She had a career teaching elementary school in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, and Indiana. She moved with her family to Bloomington in 1969 when Jack was hired as the Publisher of the Indiana Daily Student and joined the faculty of the School of Journalism at Indiana University. He died in 1976. Following Jack’s death, she taught in the Monroe County Community School System, primarily as a teacher of reading in the Chapter One program. She married Del Brinkman in 1990 and moved to Lawrence, Kansas where Del was the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs at the University of Kansas. They moved to Miami, Florida in 1993, and to Bloomington in 2000 where they made their retirement home, moving to Meadowood Retirement Community in 2015. In addition to Jack, Carolyn was preceded in death by her parents, sisters Rebecca Whitney (Clarence), Catherine Matejcek (Frank), Luanne Eberly (Jay), and brother Clarence “Bud” Carson (Dee). She is survived by her husband, daughters Debra Baker of Lawrence, Kansas and Cindy Cummings (Bill) of Bloomington, Indiana, and son Jeffrey Backer (Jennifer) of Mason, Ohio. Also surviving are her sister Doris Darnell of Houston, Texas, her grandchildren Chris Baker (Lynne), Kim Bergman (Dan), Nicole Cummings, Katie Backer and Jack Backer as well as great grandchildren Taylor Baker, Hannah Baker, Charlotte Baker, Caiden Bergman and Logan Bergman. Other survivors are stepson Scott Brinkman, stepdaughter Susan Moeser (Chris), and step-grandchildren Kelsey Brinkman, Jack Moeser, and Claire Moeser. She was fiercely devoted to and proud of her family, her children, and their families. She was very proud of her Santee (Sioux) heritage and appreciated the life experiences that growing up on a farm in Santee provided. She was guided into education by her parents, where she was both a passionate teacher of young students and a proud member of the journalism community for years. She was also passionate about Indiana University sports, particularly Indiana Basketball, never missing a game unless her own children were playing a game. A memorial service for Carolyn is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday, December 7, in the Terrace Room of the Meadowood Retirement Community in Bloomington, Indiana. All are invited to attend. Online condolences, photos, and memories may be shared with family and friends at www.allencares.com

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Carolyn Lee Brinkman

July 16, 1935 - November 29, 2019