ALTAMONT — Carol Ruth (née Bradt) Guilz, who married her high school sweetheart and was a generous friend, died peacefully at home with her family on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.

She was the daughter of the late Edwin and Dorothy (née Mattice) Bradt, formerly of Altamont.

“Carol, husband Richard, and their children moved to East Berne in 1971,” her family wrote in a tribute. “Carol grew up in Sloansville, New York, and met Richard there. They were high school sweethearts and married shortly after graduating from Schoharie High School. 

“Carol was very community oriented, being a life member of 50-plus years of the East Berne Volunteer Fire Company Auxiliary. Carol and her family were also long-time worshipers at the Helderberg Evangelical Lutheran churches of Berne and East Berne.

“Carol was a very generous and loyal friend to many in the community; she will be dearly missed by those who considered her a second mother.”

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Carol Ruth Guilz is survived by her son, Richard Jr. (Holly) of East Berne; daughter Lynn Hemingway (Peter) of East Berne; her cherished grandsons, Peter and Jacob Hemingway; sister Jan Williams (Arthur); and brother, Lance Bradt (Mary) along with many beloved cousins, nieces, nephews, and close community friends.

Her husband, Richard M. Guilz Sr., died in 2018.

Graveside services will be private for immediate family and, as she wished, there will be no calling hours. 

“Carol would like all to remember her as she was before her illness,” her family wrote.

Memorial contributions may be made to the East Berne Volunteer Fire Company, Post Office Box 25, East Berne, NY, 12059, or to the Community Hospice, 445 New Karner Road, Albany, NY 12205. 

“The family,” the tribute said, “will be forever grateful for the support from both of these organizations.”