Carolyn Lea McIntosh

Carolyn “Caroline” Lea Cross went peacefully to be with her Lord, Jesus on November 11, 2025. She was 82. Her lifetime carried her to roles and places that spanned a legendary and panoptic range: the same woman who caught rattlesnakes for pay in Arizona would also be beloved by the students at Dallas Theological Seminary when she managed the school’s post office. Through her many adventures, Caroline remained steadfast in one thing: her love for her family. As a matriarch, Caroline would see her family grow to include grandchildren and great-grandchildren in her lifetime. When she was 37, she made the acquaintance of Jesus and proceeded to love and serve him fiercely and without ceasing for all the rest of her days on Earth. She faithfully lived by the words of Hebrews 13:5-6: “Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have, for he has said, ‘I will in no way leave you, nor will I in any way forsake you.’ So that with good courage, we say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’”

Caroline was born on April Fool’s Day in 1943, in Jerome, Arizona. Although she grew up all over the American Southwest, the place she loved most was Christopher Creek, Arizona. Caroline had a powerful gift for storytelling, and if you were lucky enough to hear one that took place in Christopher Creek, she made that tiny mountain town sound like heaven on earth. She eventually settled near her daughter and grandchildren in Texas, where she worked as the post office manager for Dallas Theological Seminary, her favorite out of every job she ever had. Texas was also the place where God finally answered Caroline’s prayers for a loving and godly husband, and she married the love of her life, Mickey, on January 4th, 2004. Together, they shared an abundance of love for their blended family.

As a woman of great conviction, Caroline’s stubborn streak was at its strongest when it came to her love for her family, friends, and Jesus. If she loved you, you certainly knew it, ferociously proud and supportive of all those she cared for as she was. Caroline never had any shortage of loved ones, either, for there was always room in her heart for one more person to love and pray for, and everyone who knew her was blessed by her warmth and compassion. If you were her child, you enjoyed her unconditional support, and, if you were her grandchild, you enjoyed the same unconditional support, with the addition of sensational bedtime stories and access to her stash of snack cakes and Cheese Nips. Needless to say, she will be missed beyond reckoning.

Caroline is preceded in death by her dear husband, Micheaul “Mickey” DeWayne McIntosh; parents Wixie Harrison Cross and Leotha Sarah Vann; son Harold Ray Collander Jr.; stepson Micheaul DeWayne McIntosh II; and siblings Wixie “Butch” Harrison Cross Jr., Emil Leon Cross, and Beverly Ann Peters. She is survived by her daughter, Melissa Denice Zieleniewski; stepsons Joseph Paul and Christopher McIntosh; grandchildren Joshua Ray Radtke, Amanda, Abigail, Jacob, and Anna Zieleniewski, LeAnn Nicole and Cody Lance McIntosh, Brinna Joelee Gaston, and Emmett DeWayne, Noah Kate, and Murphy Tatum McIntosh; great-grandchildren Graham Nelo and Arla June Carson and Caroline Joy Zieleniewski; and siblings Garner Lynne Cross and Anita Gail Hart.

A gathering in celebration of Caroline’s life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers please make a donation to Doctors Without Borders.