Painted Rock Elementary honors 27-year volunteer

Painted Rock Elementary School recently wished a very fond farewell to one of its longest-running volunteers.

Wilma “Willy” Townsend, 82, recently retired from volunteering in the school’s library after 27 years.

“It was just something to do,” said Townsend, who took to volunteering at the school after the death of her husband. At the time, her grandchildren attended Painted Rock, she said, and her daughter Gayle was a member of the PTA. “I was a housewife,” she said, “and I needed something to keep me occupied after my husband died.”

She started out by helping her daughter with the PTA, before switching over to help in the library.

“I love to read, I love books, and I love to see kids read,” said Townsend, who spent her 27 years at Painted Rock helping in the school’s library, doing everything from helping kids find books to shelving and checking books in and out. “I did whatever needed to be done,” she said.

Townsend volunteered once a week in the library, spending all day Tuesday helping out, until recent years, when she cut back to volunteering for half the day.

Even after her grandchildren moved on to middle, and then high school, Townsend stayed at Painted Rock. “(My family) used to tease me, that they had graduated from high school and I was still in elementary school,” said Townsend.

Townsend said her failing eyesight due to macular degeneration was the reason behind her retiring, not a loss of love for the school and the students. “I quit because my eyes are going,” she said. “I miss (volunteering) already. I loved all the kids, and Lynn (Grindstaff, the school’s librarian). The school is so lucky to have her. She does a beautiful job of it, knows all the books and she loves all the kids. I’m going to miss it like crazy, but you know how it is when you get old. I’m 82, it’s about time I settled down and stayed home.”

Townsend was surprised by Grindstaff, her family and Painted Rock parents, staff and students with a goodbye and recognition ceremony.

“Most of her thousands of volunteer hours have been spent in the library where you could find her all day, every Tuesday. She actually first started volunteering with two librarians before I came to Painted Rock in 1992,” said Grindstaff during the speech she gave at the assembly.

Grindstaff also said that Townsend had not only donated her time but many books that the students still use and sponsored students on class field trips and trips to Washington D.C.

“We love you and will miss seeing you here at ‘The Rock,’” said Grindstaff at the assembly.