Carol Ann Leibelt
Carol Leibelt may have been "Miss Piggy" to her students, but she also celebrated the titles of wife, mother and grandmother. She will be greatly missed by her family and community.
Carol Ann Leibelt, 68, a longtime resident of George, Wash., passed away peacefully surrounded by her family Sept. 20, 2024. She was born Dec. 4, 1955, to Esther and Richard Gray at Dugway Military Base, Utah.
Carol was the second of three children. Her father was active Army, and she spent her childhood living on military bases in the U.S. and Germany. She recalled playing in Germany with war debris still in the forests. She later attended school in West Seattle, Wash., and Burien, Wash.
When she was attending Big Bend Community College, she met the love of her life Tony Leibelt, remaining together for over 40 years. They raised two children near George. Carol worked for the Quincy School District for 28 years, most of that at George Elementary where the students knew her as “Miss Piggy.”
Carol was recognized by her peers when she was awarded the 2019 Public School Employee of the Year and one in four people in the nation to receive the Congressional RISE Act (Recognizing Inspirational School Employees) award in 2019. This was for her role in the Thanksgiving University of Washington band bus rollover the previous year. Carol and Tony were both recognized as Hometown Heroes as part of that 2018 event.
Following retirement, Carol kept busy as a volunteer at Quincy Animal Shelter, traveling to historical places, art museums, NASCAR, quilting and knitting. She especially enjoyed gardening and flower beds. Her focus was always to spend as much time with grandchildren Kai and Carson Ray as possible, but her photos are of dogs.
Carol is survived by husband Tony, daughter Leigh (Jason) Allison-Ray, son Alexander (Rachel) Leibelt, grandchildren Kai and Carson, sisters Mary and Alice, and nieces Katherine and Esther.
Carol made friends everywhere she went. Many of those were co-workers but recently included medical, nutritionist and hospice staff. Some of these people had been George students; it was common to hear “Hi, Miss Piggy” rather than her name. She will be missed!
At her request, there will be no public services held. In lieu of flowers, any donations can be made to the Columbia Basin Cancer Foundation.
Please leave a memory for the family or sign the online guestbook at www.scharbachs.com.
Scharbach’s Columbia Funeral Chapel, Quincy, is assisting the family with arrangements.