Fay Stahl
1924-2013
Volunteer Extraordinaire
Adieu, Dear Friend.
By Cheryl Baker, Modoc County Librarian
Fay Stahl was the quintessential volunteer at the Modoc County Library for 30 years. Sadly, she passed away on September 15, 2013. Born on September 3, 1924, in Brooklyn, New York, she was the daughter of Jewish immigrant parents from Poland, who spoke very little English.
Fay enjoyed the public library from an early age. Every Friday afternoon after school, she and her sister Lillian walked a long, long distance to the public library in Brooklyn. Fay remembered that storefront library as very quiet and dim. She and Lillian loved browsing the library shelves, and would check out armfuls of books to take home each week – and no tote bags to carry them! Fay graduated from Brooklyn College, which is now part of New York University, with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and language. (Fay understood German, Yiddish, and some French.)
During World War II, Fay met Don Stahl, who was in the Navy. In 1950 Don went to New York to marry Fay and bring her back to California with him. Fay worked for the Bank of America in Alturas from 1951 to 1963, and during this time, she frequented the Modoc County Library every Friday morning before going to work. She and Don moved to San Francisco in 1963, where Fay worked as a communications officer for Bank of America in the financial district. Upon their retirements in 1980, Fay and Don returned to Modoc.
After being encouraged by County Librarian Betty Chism, Fay began volunteering at the library in 1983. Fay described her love of the library, and not wanting to stay home in her retirement, as a “good match” for volunteering. Fay was very active in the successful campaign to form the Community Facilities District Number One and to pass the special library tax levy. This was a critical victory for the library, when it was faced with impending closure in 1988 due to severe County budget constraints. Her banking experience made her a natural for serving as the Treasurer of the campaign and handling the donations that came in. From 1985 to 2002, Fay served as the Secretary/Treasurer of the Friends of the Modoc County Library. In 2002 the Secretary/Treasurer duties were split, and Fay continued her accurate and meticulous accounting practices to the present as the Treasurer of the Friends organization. Fay served as a tutor in the library’s adult literacy program, and she was also a past member of the Library Advisory Board.
For the last several years, Fay worked two full days each week processing patron requests. She managed the library's InterLibrary Loan department single-handedly for extended periods of time, including the past 20 months. Our library borrows books from libraries all over the United States for our patrons. Locating a library to lend a requested book can be challenging, and Fay loved a challenge.
Fay participated tirelessly in the planning and presenting of a wide variety of Friends fundraising events, including the June Jamboree, Oktoberfest, Patriotic Salute, and numerous other events. She was intimately involved in processing book donations that were not added to the library’s collection, directing them to appropriate Friends book sale venues: the Bookworm, special book sales, the Silent Auction, Top Shelf, or online book sales. She energetically organized and staffed book sales too.
Fay was a vital member of our library team and a beloved member of our library family. She helped our staff and our patrons in innumerable ways, and she was always eager to learn. When asked what she enjoyed most about volunteering at the library, Fay quickly mentioned being around people, especially young people, and helping patrons get the information or materials they want. She reveled in mental activities, loved answering reference questions, and enjoyed every opportunity to enhance her computer skills at the same time.
Fay’s personal reading tastes were varied, but she particularly enjoyed biographies, The New Yorker magazine, and books about language, arts and culture. She enjoyed participating in the library's Third Thursday Book Discussion Group. According to Fay, the Modoc County Library is a “great source for information, education, and entertainment.” She could neither imagine being without a public library nor conceive of any business coming to Modoc without a good public library in the county. Fay strongly believed the library is an important asset to the community, for the same reasons it was important to her personally, and she built a productive retirement around this tenet. She was a staunch defender of the principles that form the foundation of public libraries, including the freedom to read. Fay always strove for excellence and was a model of professionalism.
Adieu, dear Fay. Thank you for your many years of selfless and dedicated service to our Library, sharing with us your good humor, knowledge, expertise, and wisdom. You are the volunteer extraordinaire, and our cherished memories of you will fill our hearts forever.