Carol Jean Spangler

Carol Jean Keim Spangler, 71, of Fairview, Kansas, died on Thursday, May 21, 2026, of a rare and aggressive cancer. Carol died less than 9 months after her husband, David, also died of a different type of rare and aggressive cancer. Their two-year cancer journey points to a great need for the prioritization of cancer research, with a special focus on women’s health. A great nation can and must do better.

Carol was born on May 4, 1955, to Gary and Laura (Plattner) Keim. Her mother was diagnosed with tuberculosis shortly after Carol's birth and was hospitalized in Norton, Kansas, for three years. Her mother’s sister, Marie Plattner, moved to the farm to help raise baby Carol until she was three, when her mother returned home. Carol remained very close to Marie for the rest of Marie’s life.

Carol grew up on the family farm southeast of Fairview and loved the farming life, including raising bucket calves, riding horses with her best friend, Kathy, attending livestock auctions at the St. Joseph, Missouri, stockyards with her father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, and learning the business of farming. She was delighted to become a big sister around her 11th birthday, when her brother, John, was born. Carol attended Fairview School through the 8th grade and then attended Hiawatha High School, graduating with the class of 1973.

Carol married David Spangler in 1973. Two children were born to this union: Aaron, who died at birth, and Shane. Carol and David farmed in partnership with Carol’s parents and grandfather until 1987, when Carol, David, and Shane moved to the Branson, Missouri, area. There, Carol attended the College of the Ozarks, graduating summa cum laude. She graduated with a triple major in French, English, and education in 1993. She was honored as the Outstanding Woman Graduate of her class.

In 1993, Carol and David returned to northeast Kansas, where she taught school until 2017 in Horton, Hiawatha, and Sabetha schools. Many times, throughout her career, she took her French students to France. In 1995, Carol received a Fulbright Fellowship to study in Russia. In 2001, she received her Master of Library and Information Management degree from Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas. She received a grant to study French in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in the summer of 2012. In addition to teaching, she served as school librarian at both the Hiawatha and Sabetha High Schools.

In 2002, she founded Grains for Hope, an international non-profit organization dedicated to providing high-quality nutrition to developing countries. This student-led organization achieved great success, attracting attention from world leaders and garnering numerous awards, including the Sodexho Award in 2014.

Carol loved God, her family, her friends, and her students with an uncommonly fierce devotion and was an encourager of all. She was full of compassion for people, animals, and nature. She was a skilled chef and baker. She could find the beauty in the simplest things that many people overlooked. She worked behind the scenes in ways that no one knew except Christ.

Carol could do almost anything. She was a brilliant speaker, teacher, artist, writer, and thinker. She had a beautiful singing voice and played the guitar and piano. An avid reader, she has read tens of thousands of books on a wide range of subjects. She was curious about life and loved to learn new skills. Though she appreciated travel, most of all, she loved being at home, grateful for the simple and profound gift of life. Carol was a member of the Fairview United Church of Christ, which she served faithfully. 

Carol was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, David, on August 28, 2025; and an infant son, Aaron.

Carol is survived by her son, Shane of Fairview; her brother, John (Joann) Keim of Fairview; her brothers-in-law, Lee (Janet) Spangler and Wayne Spangler, both of Phoenix, Arizona; her sister-in-law, Linda Spangler of Everest, Kansas; her nieces and nephews, extended family, and a nearly uncountable number of friends.

Carol’s family would like to thank her medical teams at the Sabetha Community Hospital, the University of Kansas Cancer Center, Nemaha County Home Health & Hospice, and the Apostolic Christian Home for their excellent and loving care, and for the many, many friends who helped her to remain at home as long as possible.

Per Carol’s request, there will be no public funeral. However, a community breakfast will be held in her memory this summer (date to be announced), allowing family and friends to gather in fellowship and hospitality, both of which she practiced well.

For this reason, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in honor of Carol are suggested to Homeward Bound, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping local stray and feral cats. Donations can be made online at HomewardBound.me or mailed to Homeward Bound, PO Box 61, Bern, Kansas 66408. Thank you for honoring her memory through compassion and care for animals. Those who truly knew her recognized her deep compassion for animals in need, with a particular affection for cats. She always welcomed and loved any cat that God brought to her door. She was like that with people, too.