On Thursday, November 17th, 2022, the library held a ceremony to honor our beloved, late patron, Dan Kirkley, and to accept his unexpected, unprecedented donation of his estate, valued at just over $1 million.
Here is the Eagle Bulletin article outlining the ceremony and Dan’s unbelievably generous, humbling gift.
Dan was someone who, for many years, we interacted with at the library several times a week, if not daily. Some days, he would come in to work on a project in our Makerspace. He always had a cool new project to share with us. Some days he’d stop in to attend a local history program or book club meeting. He knew so much about the history of our village – we often learned just as much from him as he did from us! Other days, he might just come to check out a book, hang out in our Cafe, or chat with us staff members.
No matter what, Dan was always incredibly kind. He always greeted us staff members with a friendly word and an ear to ear smile.
While we knew the library was an important part of Dan’s life, we could have never anticipated the gift he would leave us upon his passing. We are humbled and honored to know the impact we had on Dan’s life, and we are astounded by his generosity.
At the library’s November 22nd Board Meeting, the Board voted to set these funds aside into a capital reserve, to be utilized in a master planning process that will include the renovation of a large unfinished portion of our building.
Dan’s gift will be transformative in expanding our ability to meet our mission and the needs of our community members. Dan’s kindness, his love of learning and his love of our community, will live on through this gift.