Member Stories

Name: Carolyn S.
Home branch: Tahlequah
Member since: 1974

When Carolyn S.'s mother died, she didn't have enough money for the funeral. As a twenty-one-year-old newly married teacher, planning a funeral had been the last thing she expected to do. But her five siblings still living at home and her elderly grandfather looked to her to take charge.

When Carolyn walked into the funeral home, she thought she'd be able to take care of the expenses.

"My husband and I had both just been paid, and I was under the impression that I would have enough money left over after we paid our bills to cover the funeral," Carolyn said. "I quickly found out how naïve that was! Hence why I am so grateful to TTCU. All it took was a phone call and everything fell into place."

When Carolyn became a teacher in Tahlequah, a school board member encouraged her to become a member of TTCU based on TTCU's history of supporting teachers.

"And I am so grateful I did!" Carolyn said.

She had no idea she would end up needing help so soon. After her mother's unexpected death, Carolyn made a phone call to TTCU, then drove down to Tulsa to secure a loan for the money for her mother's funeral expenses.

"I'll never forget how well I was treated," she said. After that, she used TTCU for all her future financial needs.

While working as a teacher and then a principal for the Muskogee Public School District, Carolyn took advantage of the savings rates offered by TTCU. She took an early retirement, but then a position opened up that she couldn't say no to: elementary and middle school principal at the School for the Blind.

Now that she's retired for the second time, Carolyn enjoys going to estate sales, working in her garden and traveling thanks in part to the savings account she built at TTCU. She enjoys getting the local experience when she travels to countries like Barbados, Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago. And she still visits the TTCU Tahlequah branch several times a month and enjoys the relationships she has built with the branch staff.

"I'm a member for life, and will always share my story and encourage others to take advantage of membership," Carolyn said.