Carolyn "Cari" Martin

Cari Martin, 70, of Billings, passed away peacefully at RiverStone Hospice Home on Aug. 2, 2023.

Cari was born on Dec. 9, 1952, in Williston, North Dakota, to Jim and Betty Ladd. She was raised in Powell, Wyoming, through her sophomore year of high school. In 1970, her family moved to Billings, where she graduated from Billings West High in 1971. After graduating, Cari met Duane Martin, and they were married on Sept. 16, 1972. They have two daughters, Kim and Jacee.

Cari was a stay-at-home mom while her daughters were young. In the early ’80s, she began a career working in a variety of office administration roles, including 18 years with the City of Billings. She retired from the City in 2015 after serving several years as the City Clerk, her most challenging and rewarding position.

Cari was incredibly creative and enjoyed many hours in her meticulously organized craft room. She especially enjoyed her monthly card club, where she developed many cherished friendships. She enjoyed decorating for every holiday, and she used her sewing talents to make blankets and pillowcases for charity. Her only regret was her unfinished craft projects. She always had plans for the next project and never sat idle. One of her favorite mottos was “Life is short, don’t dilly dally.”

Cari also enjoyed camping with her family and friends, and many of our favorite memories of her were formed in the mountains. Her favorite spot was Newton Creek campground, where she had many fond memories of childhood camping. The mountains were her happy place, and she shared her love of camping with her grandsons who enjoyed special weekends away with just Grandma and Grandpa.

Cari was a cheerleader in school, and that cheering spirit and enthusiasm followed her throughout her life as she became a wife, mom and grandma. She was our biggest fan in all of our life adventures. She supported all of us in every one of our activities and especially loved spending quality time with her grandsons playing outside, coloring, and cheering them on at band concerts and sports events.

Above all, Cari was a kindness warrior. She truly believed that a little more kindness from everyone would solve many of our world’s problems. She continually looked for ways to help others, including donating her time and talents to countless charitable causes, paying for strangers’ dinners, befriending a homeless person and making sure he had food and coffee, rescuing her dog Bentley from the shelter, and simply smiling and being pleasant to strangers no matter what kind of day she was having. In her honor, we encourage everyone to sprinkle some extra kindness today.

Cari is survived by her husband Duane of 50 years; daughters Kim (Tom) Rupsis and Jacee (Jeff) Krueger; and four grandsons, Thomas, Adam, Jaxtyn and Joel. Cari is also survived by her siblings, Cathy (Bob) Smith, Debbie Thomas (Leman Smith) and Bob (Penny) Ladd, as well as an extended family of aunts, cousins, nieces, nephews and brothers/sisters-in-law. She was preceded in death by her parents, Jim and Betty Ladd; her mother- and father-in-law, Gene and Caroline Martin; and her sisters-in-law Mary Beth Martin and Geraldine Lucht.

A celebration of Cari’s life will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 9, at DanWalt Gardens. If you are able to join us, please wear colorful clothing to honor her love of cheerful colors.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Cari’s memory may be made to RiverStone Hospice at 123 S. 27th St., Billings, MT 59101, or online at RiverstoneHealth.org. Our family would like to express our sincere appreciation for the outstanding hospice care she received.