Person of the Year

Glen Cove’s Renaissance woman, Carolyn Willson

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During his 1961 Inaugural Address, President John F. Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.” It served as a call for unity — a message to Americans saying that a nation can only provide for its people what they provide for their nation.

The meaning behind JFK’s message such as JFK’s is certainly one that Carolyn Willson has taken to heart. Over her nearly 50 years living in Glen Cove, she has done more for the city than many other residents could hope to accomplish in five lifetimes. She has been a city clerk, a deputy mayor, a founding member of the Glen Cove emergency medical service, a president of the InterAgency Council, secretary of the North Shore Historical Museum and, most recently, an integral part of the Glen Cove 350th Anniversary Advisory Committee.

Perhaps most telling, though, is that a great deal of the work that Willson has done for her city was as a volunteer. Even though she is only a month shy of 80, she sacrifices what seems to be all of her free time for the sake of the people of Glen Cove. Amy Driscoll, who worked with Willson at the North Shore Historical Museum, said that Willson’s commitment to her community makes her an ideal Person of the Year.

“Whatever organization she’s a part of, that’s her focus,” Driscoll said. “Whether she’s paid, a volunteer, a helper or in charge, she always gives 100 percent.”

Willson’s work with the museum comes as a result of her deep love for the history of Glen Cove, which also made her a perfect candidate for the 350th Anniversary Advisory Committee. In her role on the committee, she was responsible for the historical side of its work, a position which was given to her by former Mayor Reggie Spinello. She was responsible for contacting families whose Glen Cove ancestry dated back generations and interviewing them to discover the most personal aspects of the city’s storied past.

Even so, Willson refused to give herself too much credit. “We just tried to put together a picture of Glen Cove over the 350 years,” she said with her inherently modest demeanor. “It was fun.”

Spinello said that he was immediately ready to appoint Willson to the committee when the assignments were handed out. He had worked with her in various capacities in the past, and the interactions he had had with Willson showed him that she was the perfect person for the job.

“She was always very nice and very helpful to me,” Spinello said. “I always respected her opinion because she’s always been someone who cares about Glen Cove and the people who live here.”

“When I was councilman and mayor,” he later added, “I could always find Carolyn for answers and insight.”

Willson’s love for Glen Cove is represented by her desire to stay in the city after spending much of her life traveling. She was born to Dick Deichler and Peggy Henry on Jan. 24, 1939, in Huntington. The oldest of four, Willson had three younger sisters — Kathy, Laurie and Molly. The Deichler family made stops in Pennsylvania, San Antonio, Florida and Washington as their father served in the Army Air Corps.

At the end of World War II, they moved back to Long Island, where they settled in Great Neck before moving to Manhasset. Willson graduated from Manhasset High School, where she met the love of her life, Tom Willson, whom she married just after college in 1961.

With her husband joining the Air Force, Willson moved around the country as an adult as well, taking up residence in Oklahoma, North Carolina and Florida. Over those six years, she and her husband had three children — Laurie in August of 1962, David in March of 1964 and Stephen in April of 1965. In the decades since, the three have blessed Willson with nine grandchildren, all of whom she loves dearly.

In 1967, Tom completed his commitment and left the service. He went on to fly for a variety of airlines, which enabled the Willsons to move to Glen Cove, where her children spent their entire childhood. However, they were not quite done adding to their family until they adopted a 5-year-old Cree Native American girl named Cheryl from Saskatchewan.

Even before they adopted Cheryl, though, the Willsons chose Glen Cove as the place where they wanted to raise their children largely because of its cultural diversity. Willson said that she and her husband were so immersed in the city that they could never think of leaving, even after their children grew up.

“We were so much a part of the community by then,” Willson said. “I’ve been involved in city government, the school district, the hospital. I’ve worked at all those places, so this is home to me now.”

City spokeswoman Lisa Travatello said that she has admired Willson’s wide variety of contributions to the city for years. “Carolyn is a treasured gem in the City of Glen Cove,” Travatello said.

Travatello further explained, “She is embedded in the Glen Cove community and is a respected civic counselor, passionate volunteer and all-around great person. She’s a consummate diplomat. She’s always looking out for the greater good, and she has a genuine passion for doing good things for the city and its residents.”

Even now, Willson continues to solve problems that others cannot. As a board member of the IAC, she coordinated all of the food pantries in Glen Cove at one location this past Thanksgiving, allowing the organization to provide more than 350 meals for those in need.

Kathie Flynn, who works with Willson in the IAC, said that she admires her perseverance and dedication. “When she starts something, she follows through to the end,” Flynn said.

Carol Waldman, executive director of the Glen Cove Senior Center and the Herald Gazette’s Person of the Year for 2017, has worked with Willson in various roles. Waldman gave the Herald Gazette several reasons why Willson is the ideal Person of the Year, including praising her as the ideal standard for how one can grow older in Glen Cove.

“When I imagine the issues older populations have, she is the perfect model of how to grow older because she is still so engaged in her community,” Waldman said. “She sends a very good message for those of us who are concerned about ageism.

On Willson’s Person of the Year recognition, Waldman said, “I’m so proud that it’s her, and I’m so happy for her.”

She later concluded, “If I had to pass the baton onto someone, I’m so glad it’s her.”

Willson’s recognition as the Glen Cove Herald Gazette’s Person of the Year is an honor decades in the making. As people congratulate her, she will certainly try her best to pass on credit to others, but her passion, love and dedication to her community is unrivaled. Willson still actively serves as a member of several community agency boards, and she plans on continuing her service to the City of Glen Cove for as long as she is able.