Carol Lavon Gutshall

Carol Lavon Frazier Gutshall left this earth for the place prepared for her in heaven on August 26, 2025.
Carol was born the daughter of Roy Alfred Frazier and Mildred Armstrong Frazier on September 23, 1934, at the home of her grandparents in Trenton, Missouri. She was a 1952 graduate of the Gilman City High School. On August 17, 1952, she married Billie Frank Gutshall in the Melbourne Baptist Church. Together, Bill and Carol attended Southwest Baptist college for two years. Carol taught in a rural school in Boone County, while Bill attended the University of Missouri. They moved to Stockport, Iowa in 1957 where Carol taught kindergarten for one year. In 1961, they moved to Chillicothe, Missouri where Carol taught 13 years in the Chillicothe R-II School district. She taught the gifted program for eleven of those years. The greatest memories of her teaching career were winning the International Future Problem Solving Bowl with five sixth grade students in 1983 and receiving the Missouri Award for Outstanding Teacher of the Gifted in 1984. After retiring, Carol and Bill served North Central Missouri College in Trenton as Technical Preparation Coordinators. They worked diligently in establishing the A-Plus program in North Missouri Schools.
Carol’s greatest desire in life was to raise a family rooted in their relationship with God. She spent many years serving in her local church but was called to missions on a global level after retirement. Carol made more than ten trips to Belarus with her husband, Bill. They became the directors of the Swords into Plowshares ministry in Belarus which raised thousands of dollars for the rural poor of that country. They also became the American parents to two young men, Vitali and Demi Malinouski, while they attended Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City.
Carol’s family was the most important thing in her life. Carol is survived by four sons: Douglas, Daniel, Dennis and Bill C. Gutshall. Douglas (Teresa) and grandchildren: Brandon (Meredith) and children Deacon, Grisham, Oliver, and Derby Blair of Platte City, Missouri and Tara (Jazz) Rucker and daughters Brynlynn and Berkley of Lee’s Summit, Missouri; Daniel (Carla) of Lansing, Kansas and grandchildren, Jeff (Katie) and children Evy, Raygan, and Jace of Tonganoxie, Kansas, and Kristen (Jereme) Foster and daughters Claire and Charlotte of Overland Park, Kansas; Dennis (Marcia) of Trenton, Missouri and grandchildren Stephanie (Kyle) Eckler and daughters Ella, Etta, and Evelyn of Shelbyville, Missouri, and Aimee (Sam) Cope and children Clay, Elton and Colette of High Hill, Missouri; Bill C. (Angie) and grandchildren Cole (Lexie) of Trenton, Missouri and Macy and her son, Baker of Liberty, Missouri. Carol was preceded in death by her husband, Bill, her parents Roy and Mildred Frazier, brothers George and Richard Frazier, and a sister Janet McKeon.
Funeral services will be held at the First Baptist Church, Chillicothe, Missouri, on Saturday, August 30, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. A scheduled visitation will be held prior to the funeral at 10:00 a.m. Friends may call at Lindley Funeral Home, Chillicothe, on Friday, August 29, 2025, from 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. Burial will be held at Edgewood Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to First Baptist Church and may be left at or mailed to Lindley Funeral Home, P.O. Box 47, Chillicothe, Missouri 64601. Online condolences may be made at www.lindleyfuneralhomes.com.
Arrangements are under the direction of Lindley Funeral Home, Chillicothe, Missouri.