Carol Canavan was born in Detroit to Howard and Emma Anderson. She graduated from Redford High School and the University of Michigan (1949), majoring in psychology. She earned a private pilot's license through the U of M Flying Club and worked at Michigan Daily.

While working in Chicago, Carol met and married the late Jack Canavan. They raised three sons in Livonia. She worked as a substitute teacher in Livonia and Northville Public Schools. After retiring, she traveled several times to Europe and South Korea. Carol enjoyed photography, oil painting, golf, and playing bridge, including with the Grandon Ave Bridge Group.

She loved spending time at Sugar Loaf Lake near Chelsea, MI, with her family and her best friend and cousin, Mary Lou Wolfe, along with other Wolfe family members. She especially enjoyed time with her grandchildren Chelsea, Shannon, Brendan, Erica, Angelyka, and Nadia, and her great-grandson Rowan.
Carol was a long-time member of the American Association of University Women, serving one year as Livonia Chapter President. She also served on the board of the Ecumenical Center in Ann Arbor and as a docent at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

She is survived by her sons Kenneth (Karen), Gary, and Alan (Lana) and her brother John (Terry) Anderson.

Visitation is Saturday, November 30, 2024 from 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm at O'Brien-Sullivan Funeral Home on Grand River Ave in Novi. There will be a scripture service on November 30th, beginning at 7:00 pm, also at the funeral home. Visitation will continue on Sunday, December 1st, 2024 at 3:00 pm, and will end when the Funeral Service begins at 4:00 pm. Carol's final resting place will at Glen Eden Memorial Gardens in Livonia, Michigan. We will meet at the gates of the cemetery on Monday, December 2nd at 11:00 am, and process to the chapel to say the committal prayers.

Donations in memory of Carol can be directed to First Step of Wayne County .