Carol Fay Behn

Carol Fay Behn, age 95, passed away on Monday, May 22, 2023. Carol Fay Askew was the firstborn of Charles Askew, a British-born immigrant, and Clara Egeland, the daughter of a Norwegian immigrant. Born in Detroit, MI February 21, 1928, Carol was followed several years later by her beloved brother, Donald. Together the four Askews traveled the US and spent summers on the Egeland family farm in North Dakota with cousins, aunts, and uncles. Carol learned to love and cherish family from her father and mother and was bitten by a travel bug at a very early age (her first passport was at age 3 when they visited her family in Bolton-Upon-Dearne, England). After receiving her undergraduate from Bob Jones University, she began teaching elementary school in Kalamazoo, MI. It was during this time that she applied with a group of her friends to teach for the military as part of the Department of Defense program. Out of the six who applied, only two, were accepted! And from there, the world of travel expanded to Carol! Teaching for the Air Force for six years, she lived in Morocco (hopefully you were honored to hear a “when I was in Morocco” story), Germany, and Japan, and traveled to numerous countries besides (according to her count, she visited at least 50 various countries while overseas). Returning to the US to help care for her ailing mother, Carol continued teaching in schools in the Harper Woods/Detroit area. She began working on her M.Ed. at Wayne State at this time as well. When her mother passed a few years later, Carol continued living with her father. Coming home allowed Carol, not only the opportunity to care for her mother, but some of her best memories of traveling from Detroit to Zion, IL to visit her brother and her “sister”, June, and their growing family. She proudly loved her nieces, Dawn, Tammy, Shelley, and Lisa. It was during these Zion visits that Carol was introduced to Albert Behn through a neighbor. After a whirlwind courtship, Carol and Al were married July 6, 1968. She not only became a wife at this time, she became an instantaneous mother to Alan, Marty, Pat, and Karl, and two years later she became a mother again to Alison. Through the years she became a mother-in-law to Cindy, Randy, Wayne, and Sean. And she became a grandma to Greg, James (Jamie), Brittany (Arthur), Jon, Joe (Hannah), Riley (Zoey), Chelsea, Jessi (Mitch), Justin (Jenny), Jessica (Michael), Jackie, Joshua, and Nathanael (Rachel). And she passionately became a great grandma (GG) to Harper, Cora, Liam, Eliza, Maya, Marie, Everly, Mila, Grace, and Alice. Family was everything to Carol. From her cousins to her nieces to her beloved brother Don and his wife June. To those who were family, Carol was sis, mein frau, mom, auntie, grandma, and GG. And to those who were blessed enough to know her, she was adopted mom, grandma, friend, and just sunshine. And her love of travel grew a heart of the nations in her as well. As many of her international friends would say, “she was loved across the globe” by so many she had met. She loved nothing more than generously opening her home to those who needed someplace, no matter where they were from! The only thing Carol loved so much more than her family and friends was Jesus. She didn’t always know how to do it perfectly or show it, but she lived what she knew with all her heart, and she faithfully and boldly shared that belief with so many others! As another friend has said, “She was real people. You didn’t have to dig too hard”. She was genuine with her faith, with her feelings, and with her love. Carol was a testimony to God’s grace. Over the last years as her body was slowing down, she was always speaking to her medical personnel about the Lord’s grace and goodness. Through all of her trying times she put herself in the arms of her loving Savior, such that even her doctors spoke in terms of “what her Lord has in store for her” (they had heard the message loud and clear). By God’s grace, Carol Behn recognized her need for a Savior and placed her trust in God alone. And she and her family would desire nothing more than that her life would inspire you to seek that same trust in the Savior and peace as well! Visitation will be 4 - 8 p.m. on Friday, May 26, 2023 at Ringa Funeral Home in Lake Villa. Additional visitation will be at Hope Presbyterian Church, 18215 West IL-120, Grayslake, IL on Saturday, May 27, 2023 from 8:30 a.m. until the time of service at 9:30. Burial will follow at Northshore Garden of Memories in North Chicago. Please consider giving a gift to Flora and Attila Egressy who work with CRU in Hungary. Carol has loved and supported Flora even before she graduated university in Budapest, and Flora and her growing family have stayed with Carol many times. Carol was so excited to be able to see Flora’s third child who was just born in April. https://give.cru.org/0693145

Carol Fay Behn

February 21, 1928 - May 22, 2023

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