Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/506796
46 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 1 5 Photo: Kelli Uldall hen Nancy Ausonio stands behind a cause or writes a check for charity, you won't see her trending on Facebook or photo- bombing on Instagram. And when a reporter calls for an interview, her daughter arranges everything and coaxes her mother there as a reluctant participant. The philanthropic matriarch of Castroville subscribes to Mother Teresa's belief that humility is the mother of all virtues. "If you are humble, nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are," the spiritual saint said. "I just do what I can," says Ausonio, the daughter of Italian immigrants who with her late husband Andy, built Ausonio Construction from the ground up. Now into her 80s, Ausonio, a 1951 graduate of Monterey High, shows up daily to work (always stylishly attired) at company head- quarters in Castroville. "I'm not into golf. What else would I do?" she says. She manages a lot, starting with the Friends of the Monterey County Free Libraries, a group that raises money for literacy and other programs at 18 branches. The Ausonios were instrumental in raising money to help relocate the Castroville library, sensing a need for a growing community. "Castroville has many second-language learners," she says. "And parents can't always help with school work." So Andy Ausonio Library also became a homework cen- ter, an arts collective, a child-care hub, a summer reading magnet, even a citizenship resource. "I'm very gratified," says Ausonio. In January, the Arts Council for Monterey honored Ausonio as a Champion of the Arts at a lavish ceremony. She suffered through the applause, and left early. Her other labor of love is Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital, where she served on the foundation board for two terms. In 2010, the hospital opened the Nancy Ausonio Mammography Center in her honor. "I didn't do much," she says. Former foundation director John Meyer called it, "a trib- ute that recognizes her thoughtful contribution, and decades of philanthropic, community and humanitarian work." Humility may be virtuous, but it's also transparent. —Larry Harland W icon Nancy Ausonio Local Business Owner and Community Philanthropist