Celinda Kitchens

Celinda Carroll Kitchens, 60, of Eau Claire, passed away unexpectedly Friday, October 14 from a heart attack.

Celinda Ellen Carroll was born February 10, 1962 to John and Ruth Carroll in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Growing up working at her family's inn with her three brothers shaped her significantly. The friends she made throughout childhood are relationships she has held onto through the years. After graduating high school, she attended New Hampshire College and graduated with a double degree in Accounting and Management Information Systems.

Her first job out of college was with Coopers and Lybrand as an Audit Specialist. Eventually, Celinda moved to South Carolina where she worked in the Printed Circuit Board Industry as a Production Control Manager. In 1992, she gave birth to her twin daughters, Kendra and Reid and met her husband Keith. Keith and Celinda met through work, where they fell in love after a date set up by Keith's secretary. They got married in 1994 and Keith then adopted Kendra and Reid, making their family “official”. They lived together in South Carolina for four years.

Celinda and Keith moved to Wisconsin for work at Johnson Matthey in 1996. Celinda eventually earned the title of Operations Manager. Ultimately she left this job to spend time with Reid and Kendra. She was recognized for her involvement at their elementary school, volunteering in classrooms and leading reading groups. She has always had a passion for teachers and students in the classroom. After returning to work, she spent nearly twenty years working at MCL Management. Most recently, she worked for different local companies doing accounting work.

Although her jobs were data and information based and she was incredibly accomplished in this area, Celinda was also creative and crafty. Between scrapbooking, jewelry making, and knitting, she created special memories for many people. Most recent hobbies included knitting and essential oils, as she truly believed of any ailment: “there’s an oil for that.” Besides making knit hats for loved ones, she and her siblings also created very special hats for family members to wear at her favorite vacation spot: The Goose.

Celinda loved her family and friends fiercely. If you were invested and excited about something, she would likely come alongside you as a supporter and cheerleader. She was a mother, wife, and sister, among many things, but the role she played the very best was Moo moo. Celinda officially became a grandma, known to her granddaughters as "Moo moo," in 2019. She loved to spend time with and completely spoil all four granddaughters as often as possible.

Celinda and Keith started to travel more often in recent years, really only leaving Wisconsin for two reasons, family or barbecue. Celinda hated the cold weather, and appreciated that both family and barbecue were located in warm places. Celinda and Keith also spent hours at home nailing down the perfect recipe on their backyard smoker. They showed off their skills during trips to Texas for important family events, including the most recent trip one month ago.

Celinda will be so incredibly missed by her entire family and group of close friends. Celinda is preceded in death by her father and mother, John and Ruth Carroll. She is survived by her loving husband and best friend, Keith Kitchens, her daughters Kendra (Griffin) Veldhuizen, and Reid (Jack) Wampler, her granddaughters Liliana, Pearl, Hollyn, and Kylin, brothers and sister-in-laws, nieces, nephews, and many other extended family.

Celinda’s family will be holding a private Celebration of Life. In lieu of flowers (as Celinda didn’t care for them), please consider helping a teacher with their classroom wishlist. Linked below are classroom wishlists, the first being for her niece, Kelsey.

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