Rhodes alums can’t help having a lifelong passion for learning and doing, and Carolyn Shettlesworth McClurkan ’60 is no exception. The subject of a Jan. 13, 2008, feature titled “Pursuing Her Passions” in Bremerton’s Kitsap Sun newspaper, Carolyn is the new president of the Bremerton (Washington) Central Lions Club. She has also served as president of the Kitsap County Historical Society (she is now its archivist), as well as president of the Bremerton Symphony League.

Those are no honorary titles. During her eight-year tenure as president of the Historical Society, membership rose from 100 to 400, the number of volunteers from 5 to 200, and the society’s annual budget increased from $30,000 to $100,000. Likewise, the symphony’s Vienna Nights fundraisers that she organized went from making $3,000 per event to $13,000 per event.

Carolyn met her husband, pediatrician J.M. “Mike” McClurkan, when she was studying for her master’s degree in Spanish at Tulane and Mike was attending medical school there. Mike became a Navy doctor, and the couple, who had three children (and now two grandchildren), lived in several different countries, including Japan and Spain. Everywhere they lived, Carolyn served as a PTA officer and Spanish teacher.

Immediately after obtaining her MLS degree from the University of Washington in 1993, Carolyn set up the archives at her church, Summit Avenue Presbyterian Church in Bremerton, where she has served three terms on the Session.

Carolyn recently received the Healthy Tomorrow Award from the Kitsap Sun and Kitsap Credit Union. The honor recognizes “individuals and organizations whose contributions significantly improve our quality of life.” She pursues her passions like a true Rhodes alum.