‘Trailblazer’ oversaw growth in Waterloo
City’s first female mayor was approachable and always gave ‘120 per cent’
WATERLOO— Marjorie Carroll, mayor of Waterloo from 1977 to 1988, has died. She was 88.
Carroll was a “trailblazer” who served as the city’s first female mayor and was also its longest-serving mayor, said Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky.
She ran uncontested in three mayoralty elections, “a testament to the confidence residents had in her leadership and vision for the city,” he said in a statement Sunday.
Carroll led Waterloo when it was experiencing major growth. Conestoga Mall had just been built, and Waterloo Town Square had just been revitalized. The Glasgow Heights subdivision was developed on her watch, along with the expansion of the Beechwood, Lakeshore and Lincoln Village residential areas.
Under her leadership, Waterloo city hall was moved to a new facility on Regina Street, which firmly established UpTown Waterloo as the city’s hub.
Carroll was seen as confident and no-nonsense, yet personable. She was affectionately known as “Mrs. Waterloo,” driving around town in a sporty red-and-white Firebird, Jaworsky said.
She also led an administration noted for its pro-business stance and businesslike efficiency.
Yet her lasting legacy was her approachability, said Tom Litwiller, formerly the director of recreation services at the city. He worked alongside Carroll for many years.
“Her door was always open. She would stop and talk with people and hear what they have to say,” he said. “She found the balance. She seemed to be able to work with everybody.”
Litwiller remembers how she supported plans for the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex.
“Marjorie brought to the table the idea that if we were going to be a progressive city with two universities, then we would have to invest in our city. She was ahead of her time that way.”
Carroll was the city’s first female mayor, and was proud of that, but didn’t often dwell on it.
When she first became mayor in 1977, she was quoted in the Waterloo Chronicle, saying: “I believe I am looked at as an individual because that is the way I view myself. I am not hung up on women’s’ liberation. My father and husband treat me as an individual and have expected me to achieve.
“I am proud to be the first woman mayor of Waterloo,” she said. “I know I can do it.”
Carroll and her husband, Glenn, had two daughters, Trudy Carroll and Kathleen D’Elia. Glenn died in1999 and Trudy in 2015.
D’Elia has since moved to California, but remembers growing up in Waterloo with her mom as mayor.
“Driven. She was very driven. Very social. She was probably out five nights out of seven a week,” she said.
“Now that I have teens of my own, I see what a great job she did,” said D’Elia. “She was an amazing role model for picking something in life and doing it to the best of your ability. She gave 120 per cent to everything she did. Yet she had that empathic side.”
Former regional chair Ken Seiling worked with Carroll for 10 years in regional politics and continued to stay in contact many years later.
After politicians are defeated, he said, sometimes they “retreat into a shell, never to be seen again.
“But Marjorie wasn’t like that,” he said. “Even when Glenn died, that was really hard on Marjorie. But then she went and created a new life for herself and carried on, and carried on in her community. That’s what people liked about her.
“Marjorie was a great friend,” said Seiling. “I would call her a real trooper. She was in many ways a very powerful woman, but she was very interested in people and always managed to bounce back.
“She always seemed to be able to move forward. Always smiling.”