A Tribute To Carol Desenne

St. John Tradewinds,

 

One of the hardest workers I ever met died this week. Carole DeSenne, the Executive Director of the St. John Community Foundation, manager of Dial-A-Ride, site manager of Cruz Bay Apartments and on-site manager of Bellevue Village, died on Thursday, June 14, at her home in Bellevue Village, St. John. 

 

With all the work she had to do in these jobs, she still found the time to act in plays with the Epiphany Theater, sing with the St. John Singers and do community service for many local non-profit groups. 

 

She led numerous Night Out Against Crime activities, raised money for United Way, mentored young people in the community, worked every year at Children’s Carnival Village doing crafts and selling snow cones, helped with the recent Animal Care Center’s Wagapalooza event, and was a troop leader with the burgeoning Girl Scout Troop at Bellevue Village. And these are only the efforts that I knew about. 

 

I knew her from my association with the St. John Community Foundation, and recently spent a lot of time with her helping to set up the Girl Scout Troop, selling cookies with the girls, and working with her at Wagapalooza at the food booth. She was a generous spirit — always giving her time and her money, especially to help the young people in our community. Carole wanted them to reach their full potential as human beings and thus tried to give them different experiences which they might not have had, but for her efforts. She helped many young people over the years and was always enthusiastic to help more.

 

Carole was no saint. Those of us who knew her and worked with her, often saw her difficult and cantankerous side, maybe a sign of her inability to regulate her Type 1 Diabetes, the disease that ultimately killed her. Somehow, I was able to continue to work with her over the years in spite of the hard parts of her personality, and came out of the relationship with an amazing respect for her unlimited energy and enormous enthusiasm. Carole made a positive difference in our community, and she will be missed.

 

– Lonnie Willis