City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation
Obituary
Carol Jean Wellford
Knightdale, North Carolina
Age 72.
Died 09/20/2025.
Born in Hinsdale, IL, she was the daughter of Neil and Ruth Van Kirk. She attended Wheeling High School in Wheeling, WV and Grove City College where she obtained her liberal arts degree. She had employment history as a bookkeeper for a California realtor and Tullahoma, TN Board of Education and, in more recent years, worked as the receptionist at Merrill-Lynch wealth management division of Bank of America in Wilmington, NC.
She was a lifelong member of the Presbyterian church with most recent attendance at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Raleigh, NC. There, she was a member of the sanctuary choir following years of choral participation and shared her lovely soprano voice for successive congregations. She loved contemporary music, including U2 and Sting; was a superlative cook; enjoyed entertaining family and friends; was a devoted mother and grandmother; doted on her dogs and cats; and enjoyed the beach. She possessed a positive spirit and was a good friend to those who knew her.
She is survived by her spouse, Chris Dunbar Wellford; her children, Courtney Lind Wright and husband, David; Chase Campbell Wellford and wife, Stephanie; four grandchildren, Campbell and Holden Wellford, Tanner Wright, and Vivian Wright; sister, Donna Van Kirk; brother, Bob Van Kirk; as well as pets, Kiki and Pinky. She was predeceased by her brother, Phillip Van Kirk, and her parents.
A memorial service will be held and St. Andrews Presbyterian Church on 7506 Falls of Neuse Rd, Raleigh, NC 27615 on September 28th at 2pm. A reception will follow at Millbrook Manor on 1705 E Millbrook Rd, Raleigh NC 27609 from 3-6pm.
Memorial donations may be made to Family Together, PO Box 14395, Raleigh, NC 27620, or Tunnel to Towers Foundation, 2361 Hylan Blvd, Staten Island, NY 10306 to lift families of fallen heroes.
For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.
You can share this obituary using the following address, or click the button below to share on Facebook.
City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.
Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.
Our Promise
Apples to Apples
Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.
The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.
Genuine Care
We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.
Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.
We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.
State Wide
Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.
Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.
Our Services
$1196.75
Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.
$2875.66
We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.
$1917.84
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.
$1596.75
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation with a private family viewing. A private family viewing allows up to 10 immediate family members or friends to spend time with a loved one when a public visitation is not preferred.
$2497.50
An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.
$6081.48
We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.
$3033.75
This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.
$2640.59
As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home also offers Aquamation. The Aquamation process, often referred to as alkaline hydrolysis, uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.