page contents Google

TIGARD LIBRARY LAST RETURN

September 16, 2016 by
tigard library

Joan Hensey on the lookout for new authors.

Tigard Library fans? One of the biggest just checked out.

Thomas Jefferson said he couldn’t live without books.

Life without books?

TJ sold his library to Congress after a bad fire.

Turns out America couldn’t live without a Library of Congress, couldn’t live without books, like Jefferson.

Joan Hensey couldn’t live without books, either; she couldn’t live without the Tigard Library.

If we believe we can know a person by their actions, can books be as revealing?

She visited to the library once a week with a red book bag.

When I went with her she filled the bag all the way up.

“I’m so glad you can carry my books.”

It felt like high school, and I liked it.

These are the last books she checked out:

1. MR. CLARINET by Nick Stone
The First Charles Mingus Thriller

My mother in law was an author scout looking for the next great ride. She loved a page turner, but seemed a little embarrassed by her feelings.

She had high hopes for Nick Stone.

2. ALL SUMMER LONG by Dorothea Benton Frank
“The queen of sassy Southern fiction,” according to the Charlotte Observer

After telling her about Thomas Wolfe’s memorial she caught the bug for Southern fiction.

Her’s was in inquiring mind of the best kind, able to immerse in local culture through books, no matter where local might be.

3. THE PERFECT HERITAGE by Penny Vincenzi
“No one writes smart, page turning fiction, like Penny Vincenzi,” says USA Today.

The title is perfect enough. Joan Hensey brought the best of rural England, topped with a teaching degree in Domestic Science, to a household that included a husband/son in law who sees the good in most everything, two grandsons she adored, and her daughter.

It was a perfect heritage of competitive culture complete with sausage rolls, tea, and scones.

Somehow no one could duplicate her culinary skills, not even restaurant chefs.

4. ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doerr

This is the one that got me at the book return.

How can we know we’re helping out with our presence?

Do we help more through our absence?

Like most things, it goes both ways.

All I know for sure is Tigard Library lost one of it’s strongest supporters.

Joan was a fan of the old library, then bought bricks for the new one.

She took her grand kids to the Tigard Library all their lives, instilling books in them along with their mother.

If a good life is part learning, part teaching, and part partying, Joan Hensey passed every test.

Who was she?

Daughter of a village baker who traveled the world and settled in Oregon, the sort of new blood that makes a place better.

Born on Cinco de Mayo, every birthday was a sweet variation on a familiar theme.

And she did it right.

tigard library

Happy Birthday, Grandy. Sweet dreams for our girl.

Filed Under: Who's Up Tagged With: , , , , , ,
About David Gillaspie

I am a writer. This is my blog story day by day.

Comments

  1. Alison Grimes says
    September 21, 2016 at 4:34 pm

    What a kind and thoughtful son-in-law. I don’t know too many married men who would say that about their in-law. And I work at the Tigard Library, so I understand her love of books. Many staff here remember Joan – she will be missed. Our condolences to you and her family.

    • David Gillaspie says
      September 21, 2016 at 11:27 pm

      Thank you for remembering Alison.
      She made Tigard Library a literary event with her books, and her book clubs’ books.
      Joan Hensey carried more books than an English major, and felt each story in her heart.

      DG

  2. Laveda Altenhofer says
    September 22, 2016 at 11:46 am

    May your intelligent and interesting mother-in-law find her never-ending shelves at her resting place. Thank you for sharing! It really warmed my heart! “So may books, so little time…”

    • David Gillaspie says
      September 22, 2016 at 1:51 pm

      Hi Laveda,

      I imagine her with a cup of tea and a book, what she called the perfect companions.

      One of her library tricks was reading large print books of new releases when regular print books were all out. Reading is what drove her after being diagnosed with macular degeneration. Somehow she regained sight in one eye and was overjoyed to be able to keep reading.

      Thank you for coming on BoomerPdx,

      DG

  3. Paula Walker says
    September 23, 2016 at 11:19 am

    Thank you so much for that touching blog about your mother-in-law. She sounded like quite a lady. That you could paint such a poignant portrait of her by describing the final books she checked out is a tribute to both her and her son-in-law. We were lucky to have her as a patron. I will share your blog with the staff. I’m sure some of them knew Joan.

    I also read another of your blogs “Addicted To What Could Have Been.” Although you didn’t identify her as your mother-in-law, I put one-and-one together (the picture and the description). Your reference to the Anthony Doerr book also had a personal impact:
    How can we know we’re helping out with our presence? Do we help more through our absence? Like most things, it goes both ways.

    Exactly. When I read the titles of the books Joan had checked out, I stopped at the first one, Mr. Clarinet. With a title like that and the note that it was a Charles Mingus mystery, I thought, “Cool!” There are so few jazz mysteries, one starring the irascible bassist definitely had possibilities. I immediately went to reserve it and noticed that it was Max Mingus, not Charles. Like many internet adventures, that led me on a journey through the catalog looking for jazz mysteries. I haven’t given up on Mr. Clarinet, either.

    So as you indicated, your mother was the light we could see when she visited the library and the one we could see in her absence through your description. Thank you again for sharing your tribute with us. I bet Joan would have enjoyed it.

    Paula

    • David Gillaspie says
      September 23, 2016 at 11:59 am

      Hi Paula,

      The idea of writing about Judy by her book choices came to me right before I returned them. It’s a tribute to a woman who stood by her family and inspired the next generation.

      Living together in a multi-generation home for years makes for keen insights. At the peak it grandparents, parents, and kids will all the traffic with each group.

      When her husband fell ill, Judy didn’t miss a step and locked into caregiver mode beside me. She read to her husband every night. I listened outside the door while she rolled through Zane Grey stories in her English accent. It was mesmerizing.

      I’ve never known a bigger reader than Judy, and when I asked her about the books she checked out she broke them down by plot and character like a pro.

      One of our favorite authors is Pat Conroy. After a visit to the Thomas Wolfe Memorial in Asheville, North Carolina I learned Conroy listed Wolfe as his biggest inspiration.

      In a sweet turn of fate, Look Homeward Angel was the next book on Judy’s list. Such a wonderful coincidence, but she had lots of them.

      Thank you for the lovely comment, Paula,

      DG