When I ever need to find justification information for Honorary Doctorate candidates – Mary was my go to person – my ally. Her detective skills are the reason we at SUNY Canton were able to successfully nominate Pete Heffering for our first alumnus receiving an honorary degree from SUNY. I miss her quiet strength and quick mind.

Mary was an unassuming but fierce detective— the ultimate literary sleuth. Her travel adventures only confirmed her truly adventurous, curious, and generous spirit. Everyone should know a Mary.

Thank you Mary for adding to my life, to other people’s lives, for committing your heart and soul to what you believe in, and most of all, for teaching people how to value and appreciate one another. I will miss you…

SUNY Canton and the library community have lost a person of extraordinary commitment and courage.

Mary taught us so much, and still we are unprepared for her absence. I am unprepared for her absence.

She is well-known as the go-to librarian for the really tough reference questions. Drew, you must remember the time I was trying to remember the singer Aaron Neville but could not find him in spite of every combination of keywords we tried? I thought it would be easy because of his distinctive mole, yet we gave up the search, totally defeated. Mary listened to our efforts, mildly amused, I think. An hour later she provided the name and her source. Funny, and impressive. Pop culture could not defeat her, neither could a request for material held by an institution that normally does not circulate any materials, much less that which is hard to locate and impossible to replace.

And “girl” could tell a story!!

Mary was a force of nature. I miss her every day.

Thank you Mary.

But a great library does that, and keeps its individuality, too. It develops a feel, or a flavor, or a sense of quirk – of identity. Southworth does that. And more importantly, Mary did that. And it makes a library into a living novel. There are characters, and chapters, and histories, and personalities that spice the service and support.

To borrow a somewhat clinical term, Mary was what we librarians call the personification of institutional history. That means she’d been at Canton “since the Earth cooled”. She knew the stories, knew the characters, knew the lessons that time and experience had yet to teach the rest of us. Mary never lit up as much as she did when she was asked for advice – it was the chance for all those experiences and history to matter again in the moment. It gave us a broader understanding, but it also gave her the credence she was due. Mary was a fighter, too. If she was in the right, if she was sure of what she was arguing, and if what she was arguing against was something unfair, she simply wouldn’t back down. She was a woman of principle when it would have been more expedient not to be, and even though she was run down from her illness and allergies she would nevertheless be tireless in the fights she chose. She was a great ally and a tough opponent, both. And in that, she earned respect.

It’s not the professional stuff that I’ll think of when I think of Mary, though. It’s the singular courage to go it alone. I’m something of a stymied traveler. In everything as grand as a European trip to things as simple as going out to dinner, I find that I cannot go it alone. There’s something missing in the experience if you don’t have someone to go with. And to be honest, that hesitation has kept me from some discoveries, I’m sure. But Mary had no such hang-ups. She wanted to go see Germany, so she went, fellows or not. She wanted to go to a museum, so she went, alone or not. A dinner out by herself was no obstacle. She had a boldness and confidence that let her explore and learn and go it alone. Courage is the better word.

I’ll miss her courage. I’ll miss her stories. I’ll miss her principles. I guess ultimately it comes to this: Each of us want to know we mattered, we made some change, we eased some burden, we left our friends and family and community a better place. I knew Mary for a few years, and in that time, I can attest that she did just that as both a professional, but more importantly as a person. We’re less for the loss, but have an understanding of what it is to aspire to.

Rest well, Mary. And thank you.

The last time I spoke with Mary this year was just before spring break. I was asking about the book being offered for the SUNY Canton book club. The book was “The Help”. Mary gave me a copy to read over spring break even though I was not a member of the book club. She asked what my future plans were since the semester was drawing to a close and knew that I’d be graduating. I responded that I’d be continuing in the Legal Studies program if I could acquire enough grants and scholarships. She was very quick to encourage me to apply for the AAUW scholarship. I told her that I would surely do so. After spring break I learned of Mary’s illness and began praying for her recovery. It is with great sadness that I write this note about this truly magnificent and gentle soul. Mary will be greatly missed!