Posted on 01/18/2019
Carole Schildhauer passed away on January 6th, 2019, at Cadbury Commons in Cambridge, her residence for the last several years. The cause was malignant melanoma.
She was born on October 3,1939, in New York City and grew up in East Atlantic Beach on Long Island, where she met her neighbor, John Guare, with whom she soon developed a lifelong friendship. She attended The Brearley School and graduated from the University of Kansas, where she had her first experience working in a library.
Carole returned to the East Coast, where she attended Simmons College in Boston and received a Master's Degree in Library Science, graduating in 1967. She started her library career at Raytheon Company, where she met her future husband, Ed Schildhauer, who was an electrical engineer. They soon found out they were very compatible, sharing a sardonic sense of humor and had common interests as well, such as sailing, skiing, and traveling, including trips to Ireland, and France. Carole, later, on her own, traveled twice to Cuba.
Before meeting Carole at Raytheon, Ed had graduated from the US Naval Academy and served as an officer on a submarine. They were married in 1970 on a sailboat off Nantucket.
Carole left Raytheon to accept a position at MIT in 1972, where she became Civil Engineering Librarian and Head of Reference Services for 25 years.
She was admired for her ease in working smoothly with students and faculty; she was known for her friendly and congenial style, plus a determination to get to the facts they were looking for. She was a member of the Special Libraries Association and prepared three publications, including a bibliography on sources of information in environmental engineering.
She was an active member of The Christ Episcopal Church in Cambridge. She kept in shape by running during lunch hours, and around Fresh Pond on weekends.
For Ed's third career, he got his Library Science Degree as well. Why? Because he "liked Carole's friends". Ed passed away in 1995.
Carole leaves a stepson, Kurt Schildhauer, who lives in California; he kept in close touch with her. There are three other stepchildren. She also leaves a circle of close friends, who enjoyed her warm, outgoing personality; they often went to the theatre together.
Private services were held recently.
Published in The Boston Globe on Jan. 20, 2019