Carol's Story
Carol was born on October 16, 1968, to Tom and Bea Hollfelder, in Covina, California, a suburb of the Los Angeles area. She was the second daughter born to the Hollfelder family, the first being Cathy, some five years earlier. Carol’s love of animals was clear the day her sister Cathy tried to kill a spider. Carol was only two years old, but her compassion and love for all creatures was evident as she spared that first spider from her sister’s fate. This was the beginning of her love for all animals.
Carol was a voracious reader at an early age. In second grade, she was helping teach her peers to read. At 10 years of age, horses captured her attention and she made a goal of making the Olympic Equestrian team. She competed in English style events such as Dressage, Jumping and Hunter. Carol eventually owned her own horse that was adopted through a horse sanctuary. Amazingly, she won awards with a horse no one felt would accomplish anything.
Shortly after she turned 18, Carol was in a tragic motorcycle accident that left her paralyzed. Her dad’s silent promise of a Ferrari at her bedside while she was unconscious in the hospital helped motivate her to survive. As Carol struggled to learn to live her new life as a paraplegic, she realized she would not be able to fulfill her dream of making the Olympic Equestrian team. Carol had been involved in car club racing during this time but she eventually turned her attention to a different kind of horse, a Ferrari. Tom, who at this time was involved in Vintage Road Racing, kept a relentless drive to provide her with hand controls that would allow her the ability to drive the Ferrari and race competitively.
Tom’s dedication to Carol and the relationships he fostered with a disabled racer and a fellow racing friend, made the hand controls a reality for Carol. In 1998, Carol started taking part in the Ferrari Challenge events and gained the confidence and experience she needed to race competitively. Racing gave Carol the adventure and freedom she was seeking. Her dad eventually hired a new crew chief to bring Carol to the next level in her racing. The crew chief, Paul Brown, who was an experienced racer, not only supported her racing career but ended up being the love and light of her life. The two were married in 2005 but sadly Paul was diagnosed with cancer in 2011. After a very short battle, he gained his heavenly wings in October 2012.
Carol continued to love and rescue pets in need throughout her marriage to Paul and the animals kept her sustained after his loss. Her bird Justice had no claws and he became her chief protector. Rebel, her black cat, was a source of solace for her as well because he had been their shop cat for many years. She never forgot about the spiders and even owned a tarantula named Arachne.
Carol had a heart that welcomed all animals. She had an innate ability to bring out the best in animals that many overlooked. Tom and Bea Hollfelder honor her by creating her legacy of caring for all animals in Sheboygan County. Carol was a smart, adventurous, strong willed soul who loved animals. We are proud to carry on Carol’s legacy of love to all animals in need. We will take them under our wing, give them love and help them thrive to have their best life. The Humane Society of Sheboygan County is proud to be called the Carol Hollfelder Animal Shelter.
