The Public Life of a Public Librarian

Howard DeVore died yesterday, December 31, 2005. I'm a little numb, even though we were expecting this. I have my regrets, things we still wanted to do... but Howard didn't have any. He may not have been a Rockefeller, but his life was a success, in my eyes. He was a good friend.

Here's what his daughters wrote:

It meant the world to Dad to know he had so many "fans".
Per Howard's wishes, there will be no funeral service. We will celebrate his life at the 2006 Midwestcon.

We are asking Curt Phillips and Chad Childers to pass along the following additional information:
We are all heartbroken and saddened beyond words at the loss of our Dad. No parent could have loved us more, and while he could at times seem curmudgeonly, that was all a big put-on. He would have given everything he owned if one of us needed something. We're sure some of you have seen the same in him. We wish to say only that his passing was quick and he was in no pain.

Our greatest wish was for him to live long enough to make it to LA. He was honored and excited at the prospect. We had all planned to go to LA with him and to be a part of his enjoying this honor. We do not know if this situation has occured before with a GOH, or how this will be handled. We are hoping to talk with the convention committee to see if perhaps he can still be the fan GOH, and maybe we could come as his representatives. That may not fit with their plans, so we will wait and see.

All of our lives our Dad has told us that he did not want to have a funeral, that he wanted us to hold a wake for him at the Midwestcon. So it shall be - June 2006 - - - and he wanted all of his friends to "drink a shot of Jim Beam for me". We hope you all will. We would so appreciate it if anyone who can, would send us any personal remembrances, funny tales, stories, online postings etc that you have about our Dad. They would be a treasure we can all keep, and also bring to Midwestcon and to LA to share with you. They can be sent to our Dad's email or to his home address or to us. (bigheartedhoward@comcast.net) (4705 Weddel, Dearborn Heights,MI 48125). Also, if you can pass this information to anyone who knew our Dad and may not be online, we would appreciate it.

Thank you all for being his friend. Each of you enriched his life and brought him happiness.

As Dad always lovingly referred to us: "the girls" - - - Chery, Karol and Suzy

(and the grandkids! Julienne, Ian, Jesse, Sarah, and Jillian)