By Mary Schrener

January 10 marked the end of another era in the history of Holy Family Church in East Marietta. On this now “infamous date,” Carrie Elfner, the first, and only, full time secretary and bookkeeper for eleven years, retired.

Carrie began her career at Holy Family in 1973 upon the founding of the parish by the late Father John Mulroy. She had retired at age 65 from the statistical department at Bamberger/Macy’s in Newark, N.J. After the death of her husband, she divided her time between N.J. and Ga., visiting her daughter Ruth Cavallo, then and still, secretary at St. Joseph’s, Marietta.

When Father Mulroy began looking for a parish secretary, he offered the job to Ruth, through her son, Father Joe Cavallo. Although reluctant to leave St. Joseph’s, Ruth mentioned the offer to Carrie. Carrie responded with the now famous quote “Ask Father Mulroy if he wants to hire me, I can do everything you can!” Father Mulroy took her word for it, and at age 75, Carrie began her second career.

Many Assistant Pastors have come and gone under Carrie’s reign, usually chaffing at her “strict” control of the parish finances. It was this particular gift of Carrie’s which has prompted many unique memories of her. In fact, Father Richard Kieran, former pastor at Holy Family, states: “Carrie is one of the few money changers Jesus is happy to have in the temple.”

Carrie’s retirement is not due to any decrease in her bookkeeping abilities, but rather to arthritis, and the worry that “someday I may wake up dead, and then what will Father do?” To which Father Paul Fogarty, the present pastor, remarks “She’s right, it took almost 2 months for her to teach her successor, Rosemary Chisek, how to make ‘all the ends meet.’”

Carrie may be officially retired, but she will not be absent form the parish. She will volunteer every Monday at Holy Family, and on Thursday at St. Joseph to allow her daughter Ruth computer time.

Holy Family will be sorry to see her leave her everyday duties, but knows that no one else fulfills quite so completely the scriptural quote, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”