Editorial: A first lady for the ages

Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2004 | 8:55 a.m.

After having lived eight years in the governor's mansion, the day came in 1979 for the O'Callaghan family to move from Carson City to their newly purchased home in Las Vegas. For Carolyn Randall O'Callaghan, the day brought her a responsibility not too much out of line with the hands-on jobs she had undertaken as the state's first lady. She drove the moving truck.

Like her husband, the late Gov. Mike O'Callaghan, Carolyn O'Callaghan was a down-to-earth person who was as gracious to the prison inmates working at the mansion as she was to visiting dignitaries. There was no social separation when the mailman, or the cleaner, or the milkman or other workers arrived at the mansion. They would join her for coffee and discuss the issues of the day. "She always considered the governor's mansion to be the people's house," her son, Timothy O'Callaghan, said in remembering his mother over the weekend.

Carolyn O'Callaghan died Saturday at age 68. She was hospitalized Aug. 2 with a heart condition and underwent eight hours of surgery. Her death followed the March 5 death of Gov. Mike, with whom she had shared almost 50 years of marriage. One way she dealt with his loss was by spending quality time with her grandchildren. Just three weeks ago they went fishing together at Lake Mead.

As first lady, Carolyn O'Callaghan set an example for neighborliness. She extended her helping hand to homeless people, hospitals and wherever else it was needed. "Whether it was Carolyn's husband, her children, her parents or the broader Nevada family, there was no one in this state more consumed with doing good for other people than Carolyn O'Callaghan," said Sen. Harry Reid. The senator was a student of Mike's at Basic High School and first met Carolyn when he was 16.

As a youngster, Carolyn was a standout student and athlete in her hometown of Twin Falls, Idaho. She met Mike when they were both students at the University of Idaho. They worked hard to achieve their later successes. She drove a school bus and gave music lessons and he was an iron worker. After heroic military service during the Korean War, Mike became an educator and later rose through the ranks of government service. After leaving Carson City, Carolyn and Mike became co-publishers of weekly papers, the Henderson Home News and the Boulder City News. Mike also became executive editor of the Las Vegas Sun and a columnist for all three papers. Carolyn sold ads for the two weekly papers, worked on boosting their circulation, and put in long hours every day in the papers' back shop, laying out pages and proofreading copy. She retired from full-time newspaperi ng just two years ago.

In life, Carolyn and Mike O'Callaghan gave of themselves tirelessly. That has not changed with their passing. They are still giving, and they always will be, to anyone who reflects on the lives they led.