Hollister
– Carol Willette, or Ms. Carol, as many local children know her,
is a woman who has seen her fair share of life’s challenges, but
through it all she has kept a smile and worked to improve the lives
of local children.
Hollister – Carol Willette, or Ms. Carol, as many local children know her, is a woman who has seen her fair share of life’s challenges, but through it all she has kept a smile and worked to improve the lives of local children.
“They’re so precious, and it’s so important to make sure they have the right start in the world,” she said.
Willette, 69, was born in Indiana but relocated to Texas with her family when she was 14 years old. Later in her teens, the family moved to Biloxi, Miss., but when racial tensions began to interfere with her daily life, Willette was sent back to Houston.
“It was really terrible, and I was shocked because no one in my family was raised that way,” she said. “And a lot of families sent their kids to Houston, black and white, and we all got along really well. We didn’t care.”
Her family constantly moved around when she was a child, and as such Willette has spent time in every U.S. state and territory except Oregon.
“Really, I’m just waiting for an excuse to go,” she said. “It would be a little disappointing if I didn’t.”
Willette married and came to San Jose in the late 60s with her husband, who was working for IBM at the time. The two had six children but, sadly, he died of cancer shortly after their last child was born.
“Having to raise six kids as a single mom was a tremendous challenge, it was so hard,” she said. “But now I look at them, and it seems they’ve turned out alright. I’m very proud of that.”
Though originally employed as an activities director for a convalescent hospital, Willette decided to turn her love of children into a career, and earned her license to teach preschool and kindergarten after opening a successful home daycare.
“When I was in high school I always wanted to be a music teacher,” she said. “But I don’t want to teach children much older than six or seven, when they start to think they know more than you. And sometimes they do.”
Willette retired several years ago, but when she learned about a grant opportunity for programs promoting early literacy, she couldn’t help but jump back into the fray. Five years ago she started a “Born to Read” program reading to children as young as one month old, all the way up to preschool-aged children.
“I’m fascinated by how much these babies pick up, even as newborns they’ll try to mimic your hand gestures and facial expressions,” she said. “This really is a worthwhile cause and I believe it makes a lasting difference… I tell the adult literacy teachers that it’s my job to put them out of business.”
Some days Willette also serves as a substitute preschool teacher, but says she plans on retiring for good next year, to spend more time with her family and maybe get out to Oregon. She certainly has plenty of family to spend time with her 15 grandchildren ranging in age from 8 to 22, some who live as far away as Hawaii and New York.
“They’re absolutely wonderful,” she said. “Even if it makes Christmas shopping a little crazy. This past year I must have learned more about the Xbox, iTunes and Star Wars than I could ever want to know. But that’s what’s great about grandkids. They keep you young.”
If you would like to nominate someone for Local Stories contact Danielle Smith at 637-5566, ext. 336 or ds****@fr***********.com.
