Biography for

Carol (Girard) Kopf 

Before graduation, Carol decided she wanted to go away to school. She didn’t know what she wanted to do, but two of her friends, Joyce Fabbeo and Janet Meyers, were in clinic club and they planned to sit for the entrance test for nursing school. Being the follower that she was, Carol went along and took the test. After passing the test, she went to Mrs. Leventry for help in selecting a school and learning how to apply. She went to school in Columbus, Ohio, where she graduated from St. Francis School of Nursing.

This had not been an easy process for her since in her family only the boys were slotted to go to college. She had to do this on her own and then share the information with her parents. As scary as it was, she was determined to do it. Fortunately, another friend, Kris Towner, put her in contact with Eloise Kahoun who had attended Brecksville schools when she was in elementary school; she was attending the same school and became Carol's roommate. After graduation she moved back home and she and June Mullaney set their sites on Florida as a place to live and work. They worked at Mt. Sinai Hospital on Miami Beach. Carol worked in the Coronary Intensive Care Unit and got to work in a unit with advanced technology that proved to be very useful later in her career. Unfortunately, because she grew tired of Florida and missed the change of seasons, she and June traveled to New York City. However, they eventually returned home with plans to go to Europe. That never happened because Carol became engaged to Terry Kopf ('60). June finally forgave her and was the maid-of-honor in her wedding. She and Terry have been married 44 years and have two children.

Carol chose Marymount Hospital for her next place of employment and ended up working there for thirty years. She started as an emergency room nurse, then a supervisor, and then an educational coordinator. She loved working at each of her positions, but most of all she enjoyed the next twelve years when she became Director of the Paramedic Training Program. She was asked to develop a program of training, write the curriculum, apply for accreditation, and teach. Looking back, those were the most exciting times of her career. Once she received approval from the Ohio Board of Regents, she had to promote the program. She often thought of Mrs. Bailey during those times because she was called on to address rotary clubs, city councils, and eventually the Senate and House in Columbus, Ohio. She also had TV appearances which were unique. It seemed that everyone didn’t want to put these EMS personnel on the street. The Mayor of Cleveland at the time referred to them as "junior doctors." It was an uphill battle but was well worth all the work when these dedicated men and women were finally able to get out there, ready to serve. It was quite an experience for Carol being on the ground level of something so new. During her tenure as Director, she assisted in forming a network of Instructors and served several times as president, as new instructors joined. She also served as President of the Ohio Paramedic Instructors Association under the Ohio Board of Regents.

Unfortunately, she had to end this part of her career because of ailing health. It had become too strenuous and she had to change direction and do something less physical. She was then asked to design and run Marymount Hospital’s off-site Industrial Health Clinic. There she implemented a program called SHARE which shared registered nurses to work in local industries. Carol was in the process of designing the second site when she had to end her career of nursing because her health was failing and she faced difficulties if she didn’t take the time to slow down. She was only 54 years old.

Thankfully, during the next ten years she fought and won both her fight with cancer and heart disease. Today she spends quiet time with her family and friends. Her husband, Terry, finally retired two years ago and they have traveled and spent lots of time together. Their children are close by and they now have two granddaughters, Jordon and Grace. Recently, in an enlightening conversation with some friends who felt that success in life depended solely on hard work and personal ability, Carol differed with them and shared that she thought luck had a lot to do with who was successful and who was not. She firmly believes that God places people in our paths so that we can navigate this crazy world, and she has been very fortunate to have great people touch her life. She also feels that starting off in Brecksville helped a lot.

Carol has kept active in the Emerald Necklace Garden Club, having served as its president, and she has worked with the community meals program through St. Barnabas Church. She enjoys painting, gardening, traveling, reading, entertaining, and attending the theater. Carol was named one of the most interesting people by "Cleveland Magazine."