Carol McCarthy’s life by the numbers: She left small town Nebraska for Omaha 56 years ago, was a nurse for 28 years before retiring, and has been an OPL volunteer for nearly 20 years. She is 85 years old.
Upon retirement, McCarthy found herself on a quest for knowledge and with time to spare.
After ruling out garden work (“I didn’t like the hot sun”) and caring for family (“it got to be too much”), she arrived at the Library, and two decades later, is still here. “Yes, it’s true, I have volunteered here for a long time,” McCarthy reflected.
McCarthy’s volunteer duties have ranged from creating, filing and maintaining obituary cards (a massive endeavor), to placing historical pictures in archival envelopes. Her favorite part of volunteering has been helping people research their family history, a passion that stems from her own family research. “[Volunteering] keeps me out of trouble,” she chuckled.
“Carol has been absolutely dedicated,” raved library specialist Lynn Sullivan. “She’s quiet but has a wicked sense of humor. She’s always got a good upbeat attitude.” McCarthy has also become knowledgeable in the area of genealogy. “I’ve occasionally picked her brain,” Sullivan confessed.
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