Carole Ann Anderson…. (nee Schmitt)

88, of Solvang, California, peacefully passed away at Serenity House June 26, 2026.

Carole’s parents Fredrick and Kathryn Schmitt were from Iowa. She was Born June 5, 1938, in Mason City, Iowa, Carole moved to California with her parents as a young girl, growing up in Mar Vista and Hermosa Beach. She attended Venice High School before graduating from Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach with the Class of 1957.

In 1967, Carole married Benjamin Hewitt, whom she sadly lost to cancer shortly after their marriage. She carried on with quiet strength and grace.

Courageous in ways that belied her shy nature, Carole earned her Class A Commercial Driver’s License and drove tractor-trailers and semi trucks during a period when she lived in Everett, Washington, and Anderson California.

Carole later moved to Solvang to care for her beloved mother, Kathryn, who was in her declining years – a devotion that shaped the next chapter of her life. It was there that she began an eleven -year career with the U.S. Forest Service at the Los Padres Ranger District, working in their office and field station, work she took pride in amid the beauty of the Santa Ynez Valley.

A devout Christian, Carole’s faith steadied her through life’s assorted challenges (and) loss of loved ones. In her later years she struggled with health problems that limited her mobility , but persevered through it all with quiet dignity.

She is survived by her brother, Michael Schmitt and her former sister-in-law. Carole’s faith steadied her through life’s assorted challenges loss of loved ones. She was preceded in death by her husband, Benjamin Hewitt, her older brother Fredrick M Schmitt, her mother, Kathryn Elaine Schmitt and Fredrick Joseph Schmitt.

Until her last day she was always glad to be with family and friends, laughing and eating chocolate cake.

The Valle Verde Resident Association will make a donation in memory of Carole’s to The Samaritan’s Purse – Carole’s favorite Christian Charity