Carol Burns Bayer, loving wife, mother, and grandmother, peacefully passed away on August 30th at home. She was born on February 1, 1937, in Youngstown, OH, the beloved first child of Robert and Alice Burns. Soon after, the family moved to Hazleton, PA, where Carol Ann was quickly joined by her siblings Robert (Bobby), Dorothy, and Mary Jean.
Growing up in Hazleton, she cultivated the qualities of kindness, responsibility, determination, love of the arts (she began playing the violin at the age of seven), and an unwavering dedication to family that would define her throughout her life.
Following graduation from nursing school, RN Carol set her sights on the bustling metropolis of New York City. There, she enjoyed working in surgery at New York Hospital, but also was plucked to become a fashion model. Most importantly, she met the love of her life, William Lang Bayer. They were married in 1959 and moved to Albany, where Bill completed medical school and their daughter Judy was born. From there, they moved first to Philadelphia and then Pittsburgh, where Barbara was born.
In 1969, they moved to Kansas City. Bill became the Executive Director of the Community Blood Center of Greater Kansas City, and Carol soon started her long involvement in the arts of this great city. At that time the Philharmonic was about to strike - brave Carol stepped in and had a mediation at her home that settled the strike for the moment. After several go-rounds, the Kansas City Symphony was born, and Carol was the founding President of the Friends of the Symphony. She revolutionized fundraising and awareness with phone-a-thons, group ticket sales, program advertisements, outreach concerts, and she was on the conductor search committee that brought Bill McGlaughlin to Kansas City. She also co-founded the Truman Anniversary Concert that filled RLDS auditorium for years. She was especially loyal to the Medical Arts Symphony, where she played violin and also was president for several years and hosted the annual Musicfest with 250+ people in our house on 59th street. She also founded the renowned Leopold Shopmaker Mid America Violin Competition. Seeing the need for funds for young artists led her to working with UMKC's Conservatory of Music where she became the first woman Chairman of the Board of Trustees. She started the gala Live on 55! and Live at Hallbrook! which in turn became Crescendo! Her other great love was Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company where she was chairman of the Board for many years. She was awarded the Missouri Arts Council Award, the state’s highest honor in the arts, in 1997.
With all this activity, she still found time to be the most wonderful wife, mother, and grandmother, not to mention daughter and sister. She had boundless energy and did not know the meaning of the word CAN'T. She was a do-er! When daughter Barbara and son-in-law Mano Rafael opened Le Fou Frog in 1996, she was an integral part of creating the foundation for its success and did the books for over 20 years. Still, she found time for golf and travel with her husband, heartfelt talks with her daughters, and total devotion to her grandchildren. She leaves her sisters Dorothy and Mary Jean (Novalyn), sister-in-law Joyce Burns, sister-in-law Ethel Holtmann (Gary), daughters Judy and Barbara (Mano), grandchildren Noah, Ethan, Ryo, and Juliette, nieces/nephews Bill, Jill, Scott, Christine, Kelly, Steven, many grandnieces/nephews, and her grandcats Jack, Gabby, Mouse (Moon), and Roary.
In lieu of flowers, she would love you to send a donation in her name to wylliams-henry.org or attend their performance on 9/29 or 9/30 at White Recital Hall (UMKC). (Even in death, she can’t stop promoting!)
Natural Farewell under the direction of Meierhoffer Funeral Home & Crematory.
