Carolyn Jean (Dennis) Buxbaum was born on March 6th, 1965, in San Gabriel, California to Moky Dennis and Leslie (Keller). Stephanie, her sister, joined the family 16 months later. Her youngest years were spent in the mountains of California where she was an avid downhill skier. Wild adventures with her sister where she was in charge were the highlight of her childhood. Riding their purple Schwinn’s all over, spending time with their grandmothers on the beaches of Southern California or just roaming the forest behind their house – Carolyn always led the way.

The family moved to the Sidney area in the Spring of 1976 so her father Moky could start his own business, Dennis Plumbing. Carolyn was very popular in school, and she considered school a wonderful social club. She graduated Fairview High School in 1984.

She met the love of her life and future husband, Kelvin Buxbaum, while she was waitressing at the Hotel Albert in Fairview, MT. They were married less than a year later on June 16th, 1984. A few years later their first baby girl, Alexis Jean, was born on February 27th, 1989 and then Janelle Noelle made the family circle complete on December 24th, 1991.

She worked as a travel agent for Sherry Thiel at Sunworld Travel for many years, which only added to her love of travel and taking vacations with her family. As her girls were growing she enrolled them in sports and clubs and taxied them to all their occasions. Those girls were her purpose, and being the best mom, running a perfect home, being an incredible cook, and caring for her husband - was her focus. After her girls started families of their own, she loved going up to Billings every chance she could to visit her grand babies – Elena Jean Williams, Olivia Marie Williams and Cooper James Chamberlain. She would always show up with a special surprise for them and take them out for pancakes at IHOP or shopping at garage sales. When she wasn’t with them, she was planning to see them - they had her wrapped around their wee little fingers. When her great niece Amber Brown was born she appointed herself Guardian Angel and was Amber’s biggest advocate.

Carolyn was a social butterfly – her effervescent personality floated around her, and she could fill a room with her stories and her laughter. If she had a story to tell she would act it out – voice impressions and all. No one threw a better party. She loved working at the Depot because of her customers, this wasn’t a job, it was her social club. She was a fixture there for well over 15 years.

Carolyn was preceded in death by her in-laws, Richard and Luella Buxbaum; her Grandparents Fritz and Erma Dennis; and her Grandmother Helen Chapman.

She is survived by her Husband of 38 years Kelvin Buxbaum, Her daughters and their families – Lexie & Vann Williams and their children Elena and Olivia of Billings, MT; Nellie and Jeff Chamberlain and their son Cooper of Billings, MT; Her father Moky (Burdette) and Fay Dennis of Sidney, MT; Her mother Leslie and John Keller of Dayton, Nevada; Her sister Stephanie and Dennis Dietz, Cameron & Amber Brown of Sidney, MT.

Memorial Contribution