Carolyn Armold Torrence, age 65, of Weatherford, died Sunday, September 14, from the cancer she had endured for just over a year.

She was born Carolyn Ida Armold on December 21, 1948, in Dayton, Ohio, to Harold A. P. Armold and Dorothy Scholl Armold.

She graduated from Randolph H. S., Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. She earned a B.A. from Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas, in 1973, an M.L.S. from Emporia State University, Emporia, Kansas, in 1975, and an M.Ed. from Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Weatherford, Oklahoma, in 1982.

In 1975 she was hired as the Reference Librarian at Southwestern, a position she held until she retired in 2001, culminating a career throughout which she never once lowered her voice to the customary library whisper.

In 1977, she married Richard E. (Rick) Torrence, and they made their home in Weatherford for the remainder of her life.

She was an active member of the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Association of University Women, and the Oklahoma Library Association and served on the state board of each of those organizations.

Carolyn was an avid reader of a variety of genres but with a special fondness for history and biography. A lifelong Democrat, she was active for many years in local politics and proudly continued to call herself a liberal in an era when many shied away from the term. She loved sending cards and gifts on noted occasions but took greater delight in doing so on a whim.

Most notable was her voice; physically distinctive in tone and volume, but also distinctive in spirit. A boisterous laugh accompanied her irreverent sense of humor. She was never speechless and would converse with herself when no one else was available. The world is too quiet without her.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her older brother, Harold A. P. Armold, Jr.

She is survived by her husband of 37 years and brothers Ed Armold of Aurora, Colorado, and Norman Armold of Topeka, Kansas.

In accordance with her wishes, there will be no funeral service. Following cremation, her remains will be interred at Indian Hill Cemetery, Chapman, Kansas.