Carol Sue O’Neal Haid
Carol Sue O’Neal Haid, born March 28, 1942, in Cabin Creek, West Virginia, went Home to be with the Lord on Saturday, October 24, 2026.
She lived a remarkable life defined by family, service, determination, hard work, and an enduring willingness to help others. Whether serving her community, building a career, supporting local schools, preserving friendships, or simply stepping forward when someone needed a helping hand, Carol believed in getting involved and leaving things a little better than she found them.
A proud West Virginian, Carol was a member of the DuPont High School Class of 1960 in Belle, West Virginia. Her connection to DuPont did not end at graduation. Carol remained a devoted alumna throughout her life and, for more than 20 years, worked tirelessly to help ensure the DuPont High School All-Class Reunion took place each May. Reconnecting former classmates and keeping the DuPont community together became one of the many ways Carol demonstrated how deeply she valued friendship, history, and community. In recognition of her devotion and service to the DuPont High School community, Carol was honored as the DuPont High School Alumnus of the Year in 2017.
Carol went on to build a distinguished career with the United States Postal Service, serving in a variety of customer-service positions. Her abilities and influence extended well beyond serving customers. Carol wrote Sales and Service Training for the USPS Mountaineer District and trained supervisors, postmasters, and trainers to complete the program. It was work well suited to a woman whose organizational abilities, determination, and willingness to help others were hallmarks throughout her life.
Her commitment to serving others extended far beyond her professional responsibilities.
Carol was involved with United Food Operation, an organization established to help address hunger in West Virginia’s Kanawha Valley. A photograph from 1983 documents Carol, identified as a postal worker, alongside United Food Operation volunteers and community leaders, including then-Congressman Bob Wise.
Her involvement was especially meaningful given the organization’s longstanding work supporting food pantries in Kanawha and Putnam counties. United Food Operation describes itself as an all-volunteer organization that provides food distributions to participating community food pantries.
Carol also understood that strengthening a community meant investing in its children. She worked tirelessly to support local schools in Kanawha County, helping raise donations for children’s play areas at Grandview Elementary School and Belle Elementary School. It was another example of something Carol demonstrated throughout her life: when she saw an opportunity to help, she was willing to put in the work to make it happen
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A Witness to West Virginia History
Carol’s life also intersected with an important chapter of West Virginia and American political history.
As a young woman, Carol volunteered for Hubert Humphrey during the historic 1960 West Virginia Democratic presidential primary, when Humphrey faced John F. Kennedy.
Six decades later, Carol’s firsthand recollections became part of the historical record.
The Summer 2020 issue of GOLDENSEAL, West Virginia’s magazine of traditional life, featured the 1960 presidential primary as its cover story. The historic primary was examined through the eyes of Humphrey volunteer Carol Sue O’Neal Haid.
That distinction was particularly fitting for Carol. GOLDENSEAL preserves West Virginia’s story in large part through the recollections of West Virginians themselves, using oral history and documentary work to preserve the state’s culture and history. Through Carol’s interview and recollections, a piece of her own story became part of that larger West Virginia story.
But Her Most Treasured Legacy Was Family
For all that Carol accomplished professionally and throughout her community, the most important titles in her life were not found on a résumé.
One of the most treasured was simply “Nanny.”
Carol was preceded in death by her father, Earl O’Neal; her mother, Maxine Faye O’Neal; her brothers, Roy Glen O’Neal and Jerry O’Neal; and her son-in-law, Herbert Hoover Helmick.
Carol leaves behind a family who will deeply mourn her loss while rejoicing in the comfort of knowing that she is now with her Heavenly Father, free from pain and at peace.
She leaves behind her sons, David Scott (Jane) of Delray, Florida; James Russell Scott (Ying) of Amarillo, Texas; and James Arthur “Buddy” Harkless (Theresa) of Nitro, West Virginia; and her daughters, Felisia Harkless Helmick of Charleston, West Virginia, and Holley Durham (Randy) of Nitro, West Virginia, and Honorary Daughter Cathy Snyder (John) of Elkview.
Carol was a devoted grandmother whose grandchildren brought tremendous joy to her life: Jami Watkins (Roy) of Plainville TX, Sallie Michelle Nolen (Toby) of Tulia TX, Shane Alan Durham (Laura) of Nitro, WV, Tyler Alexander Durham of Richmond, VA , Crystal Starr, of Charleston WV and James Earl Harkless of Nitro WV.
Her legacy continues through her beloved great-grandchildren: MKenzi Bremmer, Jalin Spiller, Leila Spiller, Paige Bremmer, Kody Watkins, Ashley Watkins, Sadie Nolen, Henri Nolen, Grayson Nolen, Jaxon Nolen, Silas Star, Elias Starr and Tobias
Star.
But Carol’s family was never defined solely by blood or by names on a family tree. To many, she was a second mother, a grandmother, or simply “Nanny.” She had a way of welcoming people into her life and making them feel that they belonged there. Those fortunate enough to have been loved by Carol will forever carry gratitude in their hearts for the place she gave them in hers.
Carol had a remarkable gift for bringing people together and leaving things better than she found them.
She brought people together through decades of DuPont High School reunions. She taught and developed people through her work with the Postal Service. She joined others in serving people in need through United Food Operation. She worked to create something better for children at local schools. She shared her memories so that a piece of West Virginia history could be preserved. And, above all, she loved and cared for her family.
Carol’s life cannot be measured simply by the positions she held, the organizations she served, the history she witnessed, or the projects she helped accomplish.
Her greatest legacy lives in the people she loved, the grandchildren and great-grandchildren who knew and loved her as Nanny, the family she built, the children and communities she worked to support, and the countless lives she touched along the way.
Her story is, in many ways, a West Virginia story: one of hard work, family, service, loyalty, community, perseverance, and the belief that one person truly can make a difference.
And while Alzheimer’s may have changed the final chapters of Carol’s journey, it could never erase the remarkable life she lived, the history she helped preserve, the communities she served, the family she loved, or the memories she gave to those who loved her.
A Celebration of Carol’s life will be from 6:00 to 8:00 pm Thursday October 29, 2026, at Cooke Funeral Home, Nitro, WV. The family would love for those that are able to attend to come prepared to share a memory of Carol.
In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorial donations to Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave. Floor 17, Chicago, IL 60601 http://www.alz.org
The story of Carol Sue O’Neal Haid is ultimately not simply a story about what she did.
It is a story about the difference she made.
