Carol Anne Rudey, 74, of Racine, WI, died of complications from a fall at Aurora Summit
Oconomowoc Hospital on Friday, February 20th, 2026, surrounded by family in her final
moments. The fall took place in early December.
She is a true testament to love and determination in her lifelong battle against Rheumatoid
Arthritis.
Carol was dedicated to her family and will be forever loved by her husband of 51 years (Tom
Rudey) and two adult sons (Scott Rudey and David Rudey- wife Casey (Ulman)-grandson Luke
Rudey). Carol was preceded in death by her mother (Frances) and father (Milton), her oldest
brother John Burdick and her younger brother Paul, and is survived by her beloved sister Sue
(husband Mike).
Carol was born in Racine, WI at St. Luke’s Hospital on March 28th to Milton and Frances
Burdick, the 2nd of 4 children. (Jack, Sue, Paul) Carol was part of the inaugural graduating
class at Racine J.I. Case high school before studying journalism and psychology at Warburg
University (where she met Tom) in Waverly, Iowa. While Carol had many different jobs, two
roles she truly loved were teaching “Hands on Science” courses at Emmaus Lutheran Church,
along with teaching at Racine Lutheran High School, Union Grove High School, and the
Lakeview Technology Academy in Kenosha.
Carol was an amazing educator, teaching for 18 years by going back to work as one of the only
licensed AP- Psychology and AP-Literature teachers in the state. (Taught both classes.) Her
mind was always going until the end; it’s just her body gave out. She was someone that faced
and overcame a lot of obstacles in her life. Carol was always a wonderful example to be able to
watch her “beat” just one more thing, and prove somebody “wrong” one more time. Even
though she was told she could never have kids, she had two; even though she was told she
“couldn’t work”, she taught AP Lit and AP Psych for 18 years. She always taught us that you
can do anything you truly want to do. If there is a will, there is a way. Her lessons extended
beyond the classroom.
Carol was an avid writer, publishing three novels, countless articles and numerous stories. An
avid painter and gardener, Carol enjoyed vacations to Disney and other places around the
United States. While near the end of her life her body gave out, her mind never did. She
continued to write until her final hours.
Many people would always seek her counsel. Two great pieces of advice worth bringing up: “
you don’t ever have to do anything in life you don’t want to do” and “there is never any
justification for bad behavior”. I just wanted to leave you with those two messages because
today, more than ever, those are great things to be reminded of.
All obituary information has been taken from the funeral home, newspaper or other online resource.
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