Daniel Boone Regional Library: Do you have any advice for recent retirees who would want to transition into service work, as you did with the Peace Corps?
Kay Oursler: Yes, my suggestion is “DO NOT LIVE IN FEAR.” It robs you of your freedom.
I highly recommend the Peace Corps — couples can join, even if not married. I happen to be a risk taker and enjoy travel. The Peace Corps is not for everyone, but it was the best 2 ½ years of my life. (Well, one of the best!)
I also recommend volunteering at the Veterans Administration Hospital. You can even be hooked up with a “buddy” and just talk on the phone — another way to curb loneliness for both of you. Help out at your local soup kitchen or tutor at your local elementary school. There are so many ways to “pay back.”
DBRL: You acquired many skills during your life that helped you in your Peace Corps work. Once you joined the Peace Corps, was there some skill you wished you had learned earlier in life?
Oursler: I struggled during the two months of Peace Corps training with learning to speak Kiswahili (Swahili) as I never learned a foreign language in high school or college. Actually, I never became fluent in the language, but I knew enough to get by. (Besides, I am good at charades.)
DBRL: What has kept you going back to Tanzania after your Peace Corps work?
Oursler: I have many friends in Tanzania and did raise 21 orphans. Those kids all received an education — some attended vocational school, but many attended or are still attending universities or colleges. None of this would have happened without my fund-raising from very generous Americans.
DBRL: Tell us more about how this book came about. How did you get involved with author Rosemary Fisher to help tell your story? What was the hardest part of putting this book together from your contribution?
Oursler: This book came about when I thought about my 16 great grandchildren, soon to be 17, and the fact that many of them do not know me. So, if I could write a book about my life and those kids ever wanted to know about me and my fabulous life, they could read my book.
One day in the spring of 2024, I attended a church luncheon and met Rosemary Fisher. She was showing her latest book, a child’s story, that she had written. She explained she was an author and had written several books. I believed God or fate had set her next to me at our table. I asked her if she would consider helping me write my memoirs, and her reply was that she had never done “ghost writing,” but was willing to try. We worked on the book all of 2024, even when I was in Africa. It was published in the spring of 2025.
The most difficulty I experienced in writing the book was tracing back over 70 years to the time I spent with scoliosis. I am amazed how good my recall was of that long ago event that lasted four years.
DBRL: Did some of your family and friends in the U.S. have trouble understanding why you would want to work in the Peace Corps?
Oursler: My family and friends probably thought I was crazy to want to join the Peace Corps. In fact, several of them tried to talk me out of it. It was in 1961 when President John F. Kennedy and Sargent Shriver formed the Peace Corps, and I heard about it. I told myself then, “Someday I will be a Peace Corps Volunteer.” Well, it happened 44 years later.
DBRL: Growing up you helped out at the movie theatre your parents ran in Genoa, Illinois. Can you tell us about any favorite films?
Oursler: I loved movies and still do to this day. The musicals and love stories were my favorites. I am always up for a good mystery. “King Solomon’s Mines” was one of my very favorite movies. Also, “Out of Africa.”
DBRL: Where can readers get a copy of your book?
Oursler: Amazon sells them, I believe, for $23. They give me only $2.34 per book they sell. I also have 30 books in my car! Since the proceeds from the sale go to support the education of Tanzanian orphans, I sell them for $20 up to $100. I pay $13.00 to the publisher for a book. Several people have given me $100 for a book. One lady in Wisconsin, when I spoke to her book club recently, gave me a check for $1,000. Last year I took $6,000 over for the orphan’s university/college fees. This year I will do the same.
