Arcadia Reflects on the Life of Dedicated, Stalwart Historian Carol Libby

June 24, 2020 marked the passing of true Arcadia treasure Carol Libby, after a year-long battle with cancer (see obituary).

Her smilewas truly infectious, genuine and full of warmth and humility. Anyone who evermet Carol would immediately be struck by not only her vast knowledge ofArcadia’s rich history but her wit and gentle, kind demeanor.  But most of all, however, I’ll miss that infectioussmile and amazing capacity to keep secrets.

As a 64-yearresident of the City of Arcadia, Libby was very active with the Arcadia Friendsof the Library where she served as vice president and program chairman inaddition to being a longtime member, president and vice president of theArcadia Historical Society. As volunteer and member of the Los Angeles CountyArboretum, she published two books about the history of Arcadia. Libby was awardedcountless accolades over the years including senior of the year and citizen ofthe year, among others.

“Herdeparture leaves her adoring family, good friends and the City of Arcadia,Calif. at a sorrowful loss. A decades-long Arcadian, Carol was an upliftinginspiration to young and old who, if fortunate enough to know her, would bedrawn to the twinkle in her eyes and the warmth of her countenance. Carol’svoluminous knowledge of Arcadia history was unequaled and she wasunquestionably the backbone of the Arcadia Historical Society,” ArcadiaHistorical Society reflected on their Facebook page.

“We mournthe recent passing of Carol Libby, long-time resident of Arcadia andinspirational leader of the Arcadia Historical Society. Among many otherwonderful attributes, Carol was a caring and compassionate human being andloved by all who knew her,” shared Gene Glasco, Arcadia city clerk.

A CarolLibby Youth Scholarship Award was formed in 2017and the first recipient was AriannaTogelang.

“Carol Libbywas a titan in Arcadia. Her contributions could be seen everywhere in thecommunity, most significantly as a keeper of our town’s rich history. She waswarm, generous, and friendly to all and she will be missed,” Arcadia CityManager Dominic Lazaretto stated.

Carol workedclosely over the years with former Mayor Gary Kovacic, including on two booksfocusing on the city.

“Carol was atrue daughter of Arcadia. A long-time resident and historian, she not onlywrote about Arcadia history, she made it every day. She was kind, caring, andconsiderate to all who had the pleasure to know her. Carol was also astutein Arcadia politics and community affairs, working very hard to bringour richly diverse city together and build a sense ofcommunity. Carol was an important participant in the life of our city andwill be missed by all Arcadians,” said Kovacic.

Anotherlocal historian and exceptional author, Sandy Snider, worked closely with Libbyand offered these thoughts on Libby’s life and times:

“Carol Libby was a civictreasure, a person who always said ‘yes’ or ‘why not’ or ‘tell me what youneed’ whenever asked. If there was a challenge involved in achieving loftygoals, Carol would arch those feisty eyebrows and say ‘let’s get to it.’ We metalmost 40 years ago when Carol branched out from her many city endeavors tolend her skills in sharing the Arboretum’s historic role in city affairs. I wasthe Arboretum’s history curator, but Carol was the city ambassador who helpedput the puzzle pieces together. We shared research tidbits, then thoughts aboutmuseum displays, then joined forces to promote historic preservation as arallying cry in efforts to save at least the heart of the historic AnitaBaldwin Anoakia estate. We were never willing to say ‘we lost’ that round, onlythat ‘we learned’ from the challenges of the experience. 

“Slowly and surely over the past 20years, public education has evolved as a vehicle for expressing the historicpreservation concept in Arcadia, and History Lives Here markersthroughout the city attest to Carol’s determination to counter perceptions thatthe City of Arcadia lacks meaningful history. Three of those markers now resideat The Arboretum, and Carol Libby’s name is on each of them as a committee member.From BARC (Baldwin Adobe Restoration Committee) to Save Baldwin Lake, Caroldonated time and valuable good will to support causes just a stretch beyond cityboundaries, but well within the city’s historic circle. Carol Libbyunderstood the intrinsic value of embracing the past to see the future, and sheexemplified the dedication and resolve needed to bridge that chasm.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­“Carol’sindelible mark on the City she loved will not be forgotten. It is so easyto get discouraged when good causes aren’t always supported, but Carol nevergave up, and when she wasn’t able to climb a wall, she just found a way aroundthe darn wall and met everyone on the other side with a big smile on her face.I know she is smiling still as we all feel her gentle push to keep up the goodwork.”

As the Acknowledgementpage in the book “Arcadia” recognizes, “Carol was the inspiration and guidinglight behind this project. Her knowledge of Arcadia history is truly remarkableand her unwavering dedication kept the project on track.”

Currently noservices or memorial is planned due to the current COVID-19 pandemic.

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