by Crystal Apilado
Staff Writer
This summer the University of La Verne lost an alumna, a teacher, a friend and a supporter when Carol Fetty died June 18 from congestive heart failure. She was 70 years old.
Fetty worked at ULV for over 20 years. While she attended ULV as a CAPA student from 1974-76, she also worked part time at the university. Director of public relations and publications, an adviser for Prism, the literary magazine, a Lambda adviser, the ULV Voice Alumni magazine, Circle K, Honors Committees and an Associated Students Federation adviser were some of the positions that Fetty fulfilled at ULV. Fetty was also an English instructor. She thrived on developing a good relationship with her students.
“She was just overwhelmingly concerned about her students,” said Al Clark, associate vice president for academic affairs. “She was one who was both interested and supportive.”
“Carol was a marvelous teacher. There are generations of students who can attest to that,” said Andrea Labinger, professor of Spanish and director of the Honors Program.
Fetty worked on reaching her students and making learning enjoyable. According to Cathy Henley-Erickson, professor of English and director of the writing program, for her English 111 class Fetty developed a special research project which had students research what life was like for their grandparents in the early 1900s, a meaningful experience for the students.
Fetty also enjoyed involving her students in presentations and class discussions.
“She would try to coax out of her students their best,” said Clark.
Besides her love for ULV and her students, Fetty was also a writer. She began her writing career at the age of 15 for various magazines as a byline writer. Throughout her writing career she used six different pseudonyms which she never revealed to anyone. One of the known ones that she used was her maiden name, Carol Whelchel.
Some of the magazines that she wrote for include titles such as Movieland, Modern Screen and True Story. Besides writing freelance for magazines Fetty researched and wrote on political issues for famous politicians such as Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. She also wrote for the soap opera “All My Children.”
On the side Fetty also enjoyed writing personal pieces. According to Janice Johnson, associate professor in the department of modern language and the current Prism adviser, Fetty had been working on many pieces over the years. Some of them were manuscripts for a literature anthology and a humorous fiction piece.
Ken Fetty, Carol’s husband, said that she wanted her unpublished works to be destroyed if she passed away before she had finished them. According to Ken Fetty, three of Carol’s manuscripts are going to be destroyed shortly to abide her wishes.
Fetty also had a love for Hollywood, cinema and the movie industry. She owned a collection of books on film and its history, which totals between 150 to 200 books. Her whole book collection is being donated to the ULV Wilson Library, another wish that Fetty had so those students interested in the subject would have available resources. According to Johnson, some books in special interest areas are being donated to the Huntington Library.
Besides reaching her students and excelling in writing, Fetty also touched the hearts of many people who surrounded her.
“To capture Carol in one quotation is very difficult to do,” said Clark.
Courageous, kind, determined, caring and humorous are some of the many words that friends listed in hopes of creating an image of Fetty for those who did not know her.
“I wish everyone could have a friend like Carol, at least once in a lifetime. She was a very special woman. She cared about people, and apathy wasn’t a part of her vocabulary. She was committed to her causes,” said Labinger.
“She had a wicked sense of humor, a memory for detail, a fascination with people and a keen interest in everything that touched her,” said Johnson.
According to friends Fetty was passionate about her family, literature and the English language.
“If I did something grammatically wrong she would correct me,” said Ken Fetty, her husband.
According to Clark, Carol Fetty watched Jeopardy religiously and wouldn’t answer the phone while viewing the show. Fetty also had the gift of humor that allowed her to laugh at herself. She was determined and never gave up no matter the circumstances.
“Carol was never intimidated by anybody at anytime,” said Clark reflecting on a time when Fetty was in search of a movie for a class and didn’t stop searching until she had convinced the director of the movie to allow her to copy his own personal copy.
On July 21, family organized a celebration of Fetty’s life at the Mountain Meadows Country Club in La Verne, Calif. Friends, faculty and former students of Fetty’s attended and spoke of her impact on their lives.
“She loved life and attracted those who loved life,” said Johnson, “She had the same sparkle in her eyes at 70 as she did in the pictures of her at 17. That sparkle was Carol.”
A private funeral service, for family only, was held for Fetty on June 26, and she was buried at the Good Shepherd Cemetery in Huntington Beach. Ken Fetty, two daughters, and four grandchildren survive her.
The Carol W. Fetty Memorial Scholarship Fund is being set up in her memory and to honor her for her years of service to ULV. Donations from the Fetty family, and contributions made from ULV faculty, staff and friends accommodate to the total of the scholarship.
“It is expected that the fund will soon reach $10,000 and will continue to grow in the coming years as individuals make additional gifts in Carol’s memory,” said Bob Earhart, associate vice president of university relations.
The scholarship fund will support a $500 yearly scholarship. The first scholarship is expected to be offered for a student in the fall of 2001.
According to Earhart the scholarship is offered for students enrolled in the ULV honors program that have declared a major in a humanities discipline that are at sophomore level and above.
“Carol Fetty was an outstanding teacher who cared deeply about her students and she epitomized the values of ULV,” said President Stephen Morgan.
