Ellen Dyer Thornton LH’62 Camilla Brownson Kenny LH’65 Camilla Kenny and Ellen Thornton in 2023. Inset: Kenny in December 1964 and Thornton's novels. Opposite: Thornton and two of her teachers in Japan reading a fortune at the annual Tanabata Festival in July 1961.
at the new site. It took some time, but Kenny eventually found her calling in libraries. First she earned a degree in psychology with minors in French and biology from Hood College in Maryland, then she took a job at a Baltimore library. Inspired by Low-Heywood librarian Beatrice Brinker, Kenny entered the same library science program Brinker had completed at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. After graduating, she was a children’s librarian at Cuyahoga County Public Library until her husband, Peter Kenny, was transferred to New Jersey. In 1981, the family moved to Jacksonville. Kenny began working as a school librarian, fueled by her passion for helping children learn and grow, and by the belief that libraries are essential to a well-rounded education.
“Access to books is so important,” she said. “How else can you gain an understanding for what goes on in other people’s lives and how they think and how you are different unless you read books?” Kenny underlined the importance of her close relationships with Low-Heywood teachers in the classroom and in the many extracurricular programs available to her. She was able to cultivate a wide range of interests by joining the service, art, debate, and glee clubs, which left her with an expansive intellectual foundation. “The school was extremely formative,” she said. “Just look at the class sizes. High schools now have thousands of students. How can you get the attention you need? Since its founding, King School has maintained that teacherstudent ratio, which is so important to setting kids up for success.”
The school’s influence continues in the growing friendship between Kenny and Thornton. At St. Paul’s, Kenny sings in the choir, and Thornton is a lector. Kenny uses the Dewey Decimal system to organize the church library, and Thornton volunteers as the receptionist. Their paths cross almost daily. “We are close and growing closer,” said Kenny, who is looking forward to having Thornton speak to her book club. “I just really enjoy her company. It is amazing that we have so much in common.” Thornton agreed, saying: “I see her, and I just feel really good. We have similar interests, and I think those were cultivated at Low-Heywood. The girls I went to school with were wonderful. I look back and think, ‘Wow, they were just miracles, every one of them.’”
Quest 2023-24 47
