Obituary
Carol Ward Trudeau passed away quietly on May 17, 2025, with her family by her side. She was loved and will be dearly missed by her many friends and relatives in Sarasota and Buffalo, N.Y.
Born Carol Marie Wicker on August 21, 1931, in Buffalo, N.Y. , to Carlton Scott Wicker and Lydia Hennig, Carol graduated from high school and attended William Smith College in Geneva, N.Y. There she met her first husband, Hamilton Ward, Jr. The couple was married in 1953 and stayed together for 25 years. They had two children: Hamilton Ward V, who is now living in Las Vegas, and Susan Elizabeth Ward-Freeman, currently living in Houston with her husband, Micky Freeman. Carol remarried in 2003 to Ron Trudeau, a favorite local entertainer in the Sarasota area. They were married for almost 10 years. Ron died in 2013. Carol’s first husband, Hamilton, died in 2018
Carol bought a home on Midnight Pass Rd on Siesta Key in 1973 and lived there part-time until 1990, when she retired from her career in the Microbiology department at the Witebsky Center for immunology at the University of Buffalo School of Medicine and permanently moved to Florida. But she wasn’t done working. She was a great addition to the staff at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota. But her favorite job was as a bookkeeper at the Church of the Redeemer Episcopal, a position which she held until 2020, when she finally retired at 89 years of age. On Sundays, she would attend services there.
Her greatest loss in recent years was her beloved cat Scamper, who died in 2021. Carol loved big and little felines from house cats to lions, of course being a Leo, and tigers. She was thrilled to see Siegfried and Roy and their white tigers at the Mirage with her son in Las Vegas. She also had a special place in her heart for elephants.
While living in Sarasota, she loved long walks on Turtle and Siesta Key Beaches and watching the sunset, especially when her kids came to visit. With her son they would go to Orioles spring training games, and with her daughter, they would enjoy going to the movies at CinéBistro, followed by fine dining at Fleming’s or Michael’s, especially on Fridays for the lobster pot, but always enjoying an espresso martini to start! Carol’s other great love was her yard and garden. She would spend countless hours watering and pruning to make everything look beautiful.
A memorial service will be held at the Church of the Redeemer Episcopal, 222 S Palm Ave, Sarasota, FL 34236, on Wednesday, June 11 at 11:30 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, we would ask that a donation be made to the Church of the Redeemer Episcopal, where she loved her work there, and where her ashes will be spread in the garden, with her late husband, Ron. https://www.redeemersarasota.org/give/#memorial-gifts
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