Carolann Gratton, age 73, of Harrison, Arkansas, passed away peacefully at her home on Thursday, September 17, 2026.

Carolann was born June 10, 1953, in Rochester, Minnesota, the daughter of Werner Erick Buschmann and Angeline Maye (Gilbert) Buschmann. She moved to the Harrison area from Minnesota 48 years ago and made her home on a country road near Bergman.

Carolann found her greatest joy in motherhood and cherished the years when her boys were young. After her boys were old enough, however, she went back to college and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri, and later received her Master’s Degree in Gifted Education from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Carolann worked as a gifted education coordinator and German teacher at several local schools including Mount Judea, Western Grove, and Valley Springs. She served as secretary of AATG-AR, was a member of the National Kinder Lernen Deutsch Committee, and served as a Pioneer District Learning Teacher in OUR Cooperative school districts. Her years as an educator allowed her to share her knowledge and love of learning with countless students.

Carolann was preceded in death by her parents, Werner Erick and Angeline Maye Buschmann; and an infant son, Hans Werner Gratton.

She is survived by her husband of 31 years, Paul Widergren of Harrison; two sons, Alex Gratton and wife Amanda of Omaha, Arkansas, and Andrew Gratton and wife Lydia of Harrison; one brother, Thomas DeBoer of Rochester, Minnesota; two sisters, Sandra Schwartz and husband Richard of Kennesaw, Georgia, and Mary Howard and husband Bob of Stewartville, Minnesota; and three grandchildren, Werner Gratton, Vittoria Gratton, and Evelyn Gratton.

A Celebration of Life Memorial will be planned at a later date for family and friends in Rockford, Illinois. Interment will be at Scandinavian Cemetery in Rockford, Illinois.

Arrangements under the direction of Coffman Funeral Home of Harrison. Condolences may be left online at www.coffmanfh.com.