Carolyn Jean Tobias

Carolyn Jean Tobias, 86, of San Jose, passed away Thursday, Aug. 21, 2024, at Mercy San Juan Medical Center, Carmichael. She was a resourceful, independent woman who raised two sons who loved her a lot.

Carolyn was born September 28, 1937, in Orange County, CA , one of four daughters of the late Albert and Dorothy (Hampsch) Kay.

As a girl she was raised in Placentia and later Fullerton California at a time when there were few suburbs, and acres of orange and avocado groves. Later she attended Fullerton High School where she was president of the Girls League and took pride in swimming the backstroke. After graduating from UCLA where she studied botany, she moved to San Jose in 1961 with her first husband Dick to begin her career as an elementary school teacher in the Gilroy School District. 

In her working life Carolyn found unique occupations, worked in lively settings, and made a lot of great friends doing so. In addition to teaching, she had worked at Jax of Beverly Hills, was a community librarian, worked at a juice factory in Watsonville, and until her retirement in 2006, was a legal secretary for Lyon & Lyon and then Bingham-McCutcheon. Known to her family and good friends for her love of projects great and small, these were some of her most memorable: her ever-evolving houses in Santa Cruz and San Jose, the enlargement of her fine art and furniture collections, the production of a meticulous book on San Jose’s vibrant community theater, several righteous crusades against neighborhood development, and of course, supervising the education and development of her two sons, who knew her as their costumer, tireless chauffeur, and homework editor. Throughout the years she remembered birthdays, maintained correspondence with life-long friends, and later cared lovingly for her aunt and uncle in Willow Glen. She is remembered for her love of her grandchildren, as well as her many interests: travel, antiques, art, ballroom dancing, musical theatre, and laughter with good friends.

Carolyn is survived by her sons, Christian (Elenia Hofler) of Coatesville PA, and Timothy (Carolyn McCarthy) of Sacramento, along with her grandchildren Finn, Ethan, Carly, and Natalie, her sister Edith Gavin and various nieces and nephews. Carolyn was preceded in death by her sister Marilyn Hartwell. 

Carolyn will be honored with a Celebration of Life on Sunday, November 24, 2024, 10am Hakone Gardens, 21000 Big Basin Way, Saratoga, CA. Please join us. 

In lieu of flowers, those planning a gift may wish to consider a donation to KQED, the Democratic National Party, or the DeYoung Museum of San Francisco which were some of her favorite institutions.