Carol Cordes, 74

Carol Cordes, age 74 of New Hampton, IA died Saturday, January 15, 2022, at Linn Haven Rehab and Healthcare in New Hampton.

A Memorial Service will be held at a later date. Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home and Crematory have been entrusted with arrangements.

Carol was born on Jan. 4. 1948, to Kenneth and Margie (Hemmen) Cordes in Webster City. She and her younger brother, Steven, grew up in Allison and Eldora, and it was at Eldora where Carol found her love for athletics. She starred as a forward with the 6-on-6 girls basketball team and also found her passion for golf while a student at Eldora High School.

After graduating from high school in 1966, Carol attended the University of Northern Iowa, where she pursued her degree in physical education.

In 1970, she accepted a position as an elementary school and middle school physical education teacher at New Hampton, where she spent her entire 34-year career. Carol had a knack for reaching her students and always believed in them. Her goal for them was simple — do your best at anything you tried. She was an excellent teacher because she could teach tasks so well. Countless New Hampton kids learned how to tie their shoes because she had a way of taking them through each step of the process.

Carol was one of the pioneers for girls' sports at New Hampton — starting the volleyball and basketball programs and was also a coach for the track and softball teams. She coached the 1973 Chickasaws to the state volleyball tournament, and even years later, she loved to talk about the grit and determination her girls showed on the court, the track, and the diamond. But she was also the kind of coach who liked a “good play,” even if it was made by the team she was coaching against.

After retiring in 2004, she remained active and led the Young at Heart program that helped older residents remain in good physical shape. Carol was also an active member of the First United Methodist Church in New Hampton.

Carol had a huge influence on so many, both in her classroom and athletics, and many of her former student-athletes became her friends later in life. She
supported so many causes; in fact, her friends still chuckle at all the Boy Scout popcorn she bought over the years. She just couldn’t say no to “her kids.”

Her brother and her friends will always remember how much Carol loved golf. She was an amazingly consistent player who always seemed to put her ball in the right place for her next shot, and she loved playing in tournaments.

Carol was a voracious reader, loved her newspapers and staying up on current events.

She always put others before herself, and even when life threw her friends the proverbial “lemons,” Carol Cordes was the friend who gave them hope and kept things positive. She will be dearly missed by the legions whose lives she touched as a teacher, coach, and friend.

Carol is survived by her brother, Steven Cordes of Orlando, Florida; a niece, Stacy (Peter) Baird of West Melbourne, Florida; a nephew, Kevin (Brittany) Cordes, of Melbourne, Florida; her great-nieces and nephews, Alexandra, Finn, Carter, and Beckett; sister-in-law, Melaine Cordes of West Melbourne, Florida; and the hundreds of students and athletes she taught and coached so well for so many years.

She was preceded in death by her parents.