Gnatuk, Carole Ann

• Honstead, Carole Ann

Carole Ann (Honstead) Gnatuk was born in Buffalo, New York in 1942. The daughter of former Chair of Chemical Engineering, William H. Honstead, and College of Home Economics instructor, Virginia V. Honstead, she attended Kansas State University from 1960-1964. She obtained a B.S. in Home Economics with specialization in Family and Child Development.

Gnatuk’s summers of 1961, 1964, 1965 & 1966 were spent in Estes Park, CO, at the YMCA of the Rockies. During the spring semester of 1963, she attended the Merrill-Palmer Institute, a special study program in Detroit, Michigan, then pursued her masters in Ames, IA, from 1964-1966. She worked as a teaching and research assistant during this time. After completing her M.S. in Child Development from Iowa State University’s College of Home Economics, Gnatuk left for Corvallis, Oregon.

She worked as a Family Life Specialist in Oregon State University’s Cooperative Extension Service from 1966-1967, then returned to Ames. From 1967-1968, she was an instructor for Iowa State University’s Department of Child Development, followed by working as a staff member for Collegiate United Methodist Church for a year.

From 1969-1975, she lived in Tucupita, Venezuela, then in La Coruna, Spain from 1975-1977. In each country, she served as a volunteer church pianist and choir director for Baptist Church services.

Upon her return to the states, Gnatuk lived in Morgantown, WV from 1977-1996. She worked as a pre-school teacher at The Shack Presbyterian Church and Neighborhood House from 1984-1987, and served as a choir director and pianist/organist volunteer at Trinity United Methodist Church, Morgantown, WV from 1978-1983. This overlapped with her time as a Meals on Wheels volunteer from 1979-1985.

After graduating with a Doctorate in Education from West Virginia University where she majored in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Early Childhood Education in 1996, Gnatuk held a Graduate Assistantship with West Virginia Extension Service of Kentucky University in Richmond, KY until 1999.

She then worked as a Child Development Senior Specialist for Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service in Lexington, KY until she retired in 2014.

Carole A. Gnatuk moved to Louisville, KY in 2020, where she currently resides.

Buffalo, NY (1942-1943); Manhattan, KS (1943-1964, including 4 years KSU); Ames, IA (1964-1966, including 2 years ISU); YMCA of the Rockies, Estes Park, CO (summers of 1961, 1964, 1965 & 1966); Corvallis, OR (1966-1967); Ames, IA (1967-1969); Tucupita, Venezuela (1969-1975); La Coruna, Spain (1975-1977); Morgantown, WV (1977-1996); Richmond, KY (1996-1998); Lexington, KY (1998-2020); Louisville, KY (2020-present)

Written in January 2023 by Marley Crusch.