Mom passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family and friends after a brief but valiant battle with cancer.
Carolyn was born in Bakersfield, CA on August 19, 1947, to Kenneth William Kane and Elina Rauha (Leino) Kane. Carolyn’s mother passed away during the polio epidemic when she was just 15 months old. Her father passed when Carolyn was 5 years old. Carolyn and her brother Leland were raised by foster parents in Bakersfield where she attended local schools until her sophomore year at South High School when they moved to Wasco. It was in Wasco at Carol’s Drive-In that Carolyn would meet her lifelong soulmate and “Sugar Pie” Myron Smith. When Myron returned home from college, she and Myron married. They were sweethearts for 53 years of marriage until Myron passed in 2019.
After high school, Carolyn attended business college and worked as a court reporter in Wasco for her father-in-law Judge Virgil “Smitty” Smith. She would eventually leave that profession when she and Myron moved to Taft to found Taft Funeral Home and Ambulance Service in 1969. They also owned The Boat Shop and Sporting Goods Store, Creekside Farms and Ranch, and most recently Quail Valley Recreational Village in California Hot Springs, CA. During their time in Taft, Carolyn would become an EMT in the early 1970s, a paramedic in the early 1980s, and a Registered Nurse in 1991. Carolyn worked as an emergency room nurse, flight nurse, followed by a 20-year career as a registered nurse at Millennium Surgery Center in Bakersfield, CA. Carolyn was always busy, never retiring. At the time of her cancer diagnosis, she was working in insurance sales in addition to her RV park operations.
Carolyn had many hobbies throughout the years that included boating, water skiing, snow skiing, racing odysseys, and flying with her husband in his airplanes, she was a skilled seamstress and knitter. Carolyn could wallpaper like a professional and loved to decorate her home. She also shared Myron’s love of cars, owning many Corvettes and would try and drive some of the other hotrods when Myron was not paying attention. Her favorite hobby was traveling the world with Myron and lifelong friends Terry (Teeps) and Linda (Lou) Parker. Wherever their travels took them, she always made sure to bring home unique gifts for her family.
Carolyn is survived by her sons, Myron Jr (Kellie), Monty (Audra), grandsons, Erik, Mason (Hannah), Ethan (Bella), Gage (Lilli), great granddaughter Avaree Mae, brother Leland Kane (Robin), brother-in-law Lovell “Junior” Beard, and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents Ken and Elina Kane; husband and soulmate, Myron; brother
in-laws Jimmy Greenfield and Donald Smith; Sister in-laws Yvonne Greenfield and Barbara Beard; niece Sheri Beard.
Services will be held March 7, 2026, at 1:00pm at Greenlawn Cemetery Northeast at 3700 River Blvd in Bakersfield, CA. With private interment at a later date.
The family would like to thank the caring staff from Hall Ambulance Service, Mercy Hospitals, CBCC, Around the Clock, Central California Rehab Hospital, Bristol Hospice, Dr. Ostrom, Dr. Moran, Dr. Wahi, Dr. Rahimifar, and mom’s special friends Kimmie Elkins, Marva Nisson, and Lilli Anderson.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Dream Center of Kern County or the American Cancer Society.