Caroline Martha Rost

Caroline Martha Rost (née Stradcutter) passed away peacefully in her sleep on March 24, 2026, from cancer. She was born February 23, 1960, in Belle Plaine, Minnesota, to Robert and Annabelle Stradcutter. Caroline was the youngest of five siblings.

Caroline moved to South Minneapolis, attended cosmetology school, and began doing hair in the 1980s while living it up. She loved going out dancing and spending time with friends whenever she could. She had a huge and diverse taste in music and loved discovering new artists. Live music was her favorite, everything from the diviest dive bar to a stadium concert. She was a music lover through and through.

As her lifelong friend Kevin Buesgens shared: “Long before motherhood and career, Caroline’s early years were shaped by music, friendship, and motion. Growing up, Caroline, Kevin, and Cindy Gregory spent nearly every evening piled into Kevin’s car, driving country roads, nearby towns, and eventually Minneapolis, St. Paul, Wisconsin, and even Iowa, chasing any and all music-related venues they could find or sneak into. Caroline and Cindy had a way of sweet-talking their way past bouncers like it was a practiced skill, which certainly didn’t hurt given that they were both gorgeous.

Cindy and Caroline’s sister Susie played a huge role in the move to Minneapolis. When they first arrived, Caroline, Cindy, and Kevin lived with Susie for a few months. After Susie moved out, Diane Peterson moved in, and the mayhem was stepped up another notch. Those years were loud, fun, music-filled, and foundational, helping shape the life, friendships, and path Caroline would continue to follow.”

She met Tom Rost in the early 90s while living in Minneapolis. Their daughter Leah was born on July 4, 1992. Caroline and Tom later relocated to Bloomington and welcomed a second daughter, Maddie, on August 8, 1996. Together, they loved taking the girls to see music, plays, museums, swimming, and camping. Caroline and Tom divorced in the 2000s and continued to co-parent their daughters with the support of close family and friends.

She began working at MAX Salon in Bloomington in 2000. Caroline loved her work and maintained deep connections with her longtime clients, many of whom had been with her since the start of her career in the 1980s. She built an impressive 26-year career at MAX. It devastated her to stop working after learning that her cancer had metastasized; she was deeply dedicated to her craft and truly loved her job. She would even make house calls for longtime clients who were unable to get to the salon.

Caroline loved to travel, and nothing ever stopped her from an adventure. She traveled often to Cancun, Mexico, with friends and family, and internationally to Paris, the South of France, and Italy. She also took countless road trips across Minnesota to Red Wing, Stillwater, Brainerd, Nisswa, Duluth, and into Eagle River, Wisconsin. She enjoyed traveling throughout the U.S., including trips to California, New York, Florida, Illinois, New Orleans, and Arizona.

In 2010, Caroline moved to Richfield with her daughters and longtime best friend, Jean Roe. Their home became known as the “House of Blondes,” where there was always something fun going on and so many great parties and gatherings.

A longtime resident of Minneapolis and the surrounding suburbs, Caroline loved going for drives around the Chain of Lakes and trying new spots. She was always excited to check out a new restaurant or wine bar. She loved taking the long way home to “warm up the car,” something her father always did too. She would often drive around the block just to hear the end of a song. Caroline was an animal lover. Over the years, she had many cats and a few dogs and helped her kids care for several pocket pets. Always fashionable and aware of trends, she loved to shop and took pride in her appearance. She lived a very active life and, while not especially outdoorsy, loved being outside, whether walking or simply hanging out on a deck or patio.

Her laughter was contagious, and she loved a good comedy film or a campy musical. She also loved Masterpiece Theatre on PBS. As much as she enjoyed going out, she also needed time at home to recharge. Caroline loved to read and shared books with many people. Her weekends were spent out and about, trying new places, meeting new people, and cherishing time with family and her granddaughters.

She absolutely loved being “Gramma Caroline.” She took her granddaughters to the Children’s Museum, ran around with them at breweries, and was always playing music and dancing with Annie and Mina. Always up for a game of hide and seek or tag, she loved her granddaughters deeply and was a tremendous help to Leah and Dylan, often coming over to cook dinner and insisting on cleaning up afterward.

Caroline was diagnosed with a very rare type of head and neck cancer called mucoepidermoid carcinoma. She had a salivary gland tumor removed in 1996, which is now believed to have been the origin of her cancer. When her thyroid was removed in 2018, this same cancer type was found. In 2022, a swollen lymph node in her neck was also determined to be MEC.

Caroline underwent multiple neck surgeries to remove the cancer. She faced each operation and treatment with optimism and was always eager to get back to work and to life. Thankfully, she was able to travel and spend meaningful time with friends and family following her recovery from these major surgeries.

Despite multiple surgeries and treatment attempts, the cancer eventually metastasized. Caroline’s daughters and lifelong best friends cared for her, along with her hospice team, until the end. She passed away peacefully in her sleep on the morning of March 24.

Caroline was preceded in death by her father, Robert Weiss Stradcutter; her mother, Annabelle Lydia Stradcutter (Kruschke); and her sister, Susan Jane Jorgensen. She is survived by her sister Rachel Riege; brothers Jim Stradcutter and Joe Stradcutter; nephews Nate Atkinson and Micah Stradcutter; nieces Emily Olson (and great-niece Sienna Olson) and Breanna Atkinson.

Caroline is also survived by her two beloved children: Madeline Marie Rost, married to Alexandra (Rankin) Rost, and Leah Grace (Rost) Lanas, married to Dylan Lanas; as well as her granddaughters, Annabelle Hazel Lanas and Marcelina Caroline Lanas.

Caroline had many close friends she considered chosen family, including Jean, Kevin, Michelle Peters and her son Brook, Loreen, Desiree, Gretchen, her partner Paul Reese, and so many more. Many of her clients were also her friends. She was a fantastic conversationalist, and her warmth and kindness will always be remembered.

In the words of her dear friend Michelle:

“Caroline was loving and deeply caring, yet quietly stoic. She was funny and witty, but also focused and thoughtful. She found comfort in her routines (stalking her would’ve been easy), yet could still surprise you, including breaking into a falsetto better than any of the Bee Gees.

Music was everything to her. She loved and understood all genres and seemed to know everything. She should have been a writer for Rolling Stone. She was a muse to musicians, artists, and creatives, and even those who couldn’t carry a tune felt good just being around her.

She was supportive in all the ways that mattered, fully behind the people she loved, even if an occasional eye roll was involved. She loved her daughters, friends, and family to her core, truly loved her job, and felt lucky to do so. She also had little patience for those who treated her or the people she cared for poorly, politely walking away without regret.

Caroline was the embodiment of a truly amazing woman, the kind you usually only see in movies or read about in novels. She exuded what everyone always said about her: she was the coolest. Though we have lost her, these things will never leave our hearts. We were lucky to love her and be loved back. She was a gift that can never be replaced.”

A celebration of Caroline’s life and benefit concert will be held on June 27 at The Cabooze. Tickets can be purchased via the Cabooze: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/92092116/united-reunited-benefit-concert-for-caroline-minneapolis-the-cabooze

Memorials are preferred to the GoFundMe to help settle expenses; any additional funds will go to Caroline’s daughters and granddaughters. In true Caroline fashion, she did not want a funeral, but a party in her honor.

Next time you’re in the car, put on the music that reminds you of Caroline and take the long way home.