We had sad news here at Gleeson/Geschke this week. On Sunday, circulation staffer and stacks supervisor Jacquie Horton died. Jacquie had cancer and had been on leave for several months, returning to work briefly for a short period this spring. We miss her.
I work in a different department and so didn’t work with Jacquie much directly, but she was one of those co-workers whose influence goes far beyond day-to-day tasks. These are some of the gifts she gave us:
She had a wicked sense of humor. Jacquie made me laugh when I ran into her in the staff room or when I came to her with a question or needed help with a circulation matter.
She was an attentive and helpful colleague, smart and resourceful — good librarian traits.
She was a crackerjack knitter with a great sense of style. She wore the most beautiful clothes that she made herself. She was modest about it but very generous with help and advice about knitting.
She worked really hard. Pretty much single-handedly Jacquie loaded thousands of books from the stacks onto book trucks last year for a massive and dusty library-wide weeding and shifting project.
We were lucky to have Jacquie with us. We won’t forget her.
Her obituary was published today in the Chronicle.
My sincere condolences go to Jacquie’s family and friends.
Thank you, Debbie, for this very touching and accurate tribute to our dear Jacquie. She was wonderful!!! I miss her!
thank you, Debbie, for this tribute. we’re sorry to hear the news.
i don’t know if many of you have heard of “pennies from heaven” as featured in dear abby
http://www.uexpress.com/dearabby/index.html?uc_full_date=20020331
just a moment ago i found a penny in the elevator of gleeson library. i picked it up and it was from 1964 — the year of jacquie’s birth.
i know she’s looking down on us, letting us know her spirit is here with us in the library
Hugs to you Kelci!
That is touching, sweet, and cool!
These tributes are all so wonderful.
I’ll always remember Jacquie for her gentleness, generosity and quiet dignity. One of my favorite memories of her is when the library staff had an ice cream party and there was a contest for the best topping for ice cream. Jacquie’s entry was apple pie. I thought it was classic Jacquie–creative and subtly ironic.
I’ll miss her.
I’m so saddened to hear of Jacquie’s passing. When I was working in Cataloging, her visits for barcodes were always the highlight of my day. She always patiently answered my hundreds of baking questions (she was a pastry chef) and I somehow always ended up giggling. I’ll always remember her great sense of humor, and how she was just an all around lovely person to be around. Before I left Gleeson, she gave me “Baking with Julia.” Her note, a yellow post it, it still on it – “Heather, Happy cooking!” Now its time to get out the mixer and get some scones in the oven.