Carmen Dolores was born to Kim and Colette Blackham in Provo, UT. She was the
oldest of four children. The family spent a few years in Green River, WY, where she endured
emergency kidney surgery as a three-year-old. When Carmen was in second grade, her family
settled in Fallbrook, CA. She attended Maie Ellis, La Paloma, Potter Jr. High, Bonsall Middle,
and graduated from Fallbrook High School. Growing up, Carmen enjoyed ballet, community
theatre, singing with the Fallbrook High Madrigals, creative writing, and activity in the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

After high school, Carmen attended Brigham Young University where she earned her BA
in English and sang in the BYU Women's Chorus. During that time, she volunteered to serve an
18-month mission in Honduras, where she taught the gospel of Jesus Christ in Spanish,
survived the devastating Hurricane Mitch, and made lifelong friends.
Carmen met and married Carl Rindfleisch in San Diego in 2004. They married in the San
Diego Temple. She earned her master's degree in English and taught for BYU-Idaho online
while mothering her two precious daughters, Carleigh and Carissa. They lived in Poway, CA
and Salt Lake City, UT, and enjoyed many memorable family trips planned by Carl.
Carmen was delighted when she and Carl were able to find a home in her hometown of
Fallbrook. She engaged in the community by volunteering at Bonsall Elementary (where her
girls got to have their grandma as their kindergarten teacher), joining local choirs, and enrolling
her family in North County Academy of Dance. One of her life's highlights was dancing as an
entire family in the Nutcracker.

Carmen had a gift for touching hearts. She made friends wherever she went, and she
maintained those friendships for life with thoughtful gestures, kind notes, and planning events to
include everyone. Her friends describe her rare quality of childlike innocence, which infused her
life with joy for every holiday. Carmen created reasons to celebrate--she was always planning a
party, down to her festive outfits. She would move heaven and earth to attend events for friends
and family: even in a cancer-weakened body, she would be there. She loved all kinds of music,
and she could recount dates and details of long-ago events with uncanny facility. These gifts
contributed to her extraordinary teaching ability.

Carmen's belief in her Savior Jesus Christ and her love for her family motivated her to
fight colon cancer for the last 51/2 years of her life. Her faith-filled social media posts inspired
thousands of people. Carmen is survived by her loving husband Carl, daughters Carleigh and
Carissa, parents Kim and Colette Blackham, sister Natalie (Jason) Conforto, brothers Clint
(Brooke) Blackham and Seth Blackham, parents-in-law Winn and Susan Rindfleisch,
sisters-in-law Shanna (Kamron) Riches, Meredith (Michael) Nassar, brother-in-law Adam
Rindfleisch, countless nieces and nephews, relatives, and friends who love her.