Within the time span of nearly a week, recently, two Associates of the Friends of the Library would pass away: Judy Booth on February 8, 2021 at the age of 78 (See February 18th, 2021 issue of the Stanley Republican for obituary), and ten days earlier, Fred Evans. Judy was a former Associate of the Friends of the Library and Fred Evans an active Associate.

Judy Booth would be Susan Anderson’s right-hand Library staff person during Susan’s final decade as D. R. Moon Library Director (Susan being the long-time D.R. Moon Library Director for 34 years, from 1981 to 2014.

Judy would closely collaborate with Susan involving many management operations of the Library. This would include assisting Susan in management of library volunteers, including the Friends of the Library volunteers, when regularly attending Friend’s group meetings while Susan directed the meetings as Leader.

Judy would be a long-time Friends of the Library volunteer, and would be its Vice President from a time-period involving the year 2015.

Judy’s commitment to the Friends of the Library would continue after Susan’s retirement as Library Director. Judy would provide information to F.D.R.M.L. Administration through exchanges of paper letters involving the behindthe- scenes conflicts inside the D. R. Moon Library management during the tumultuous year of 2015.

Following Judy’s decision to retire as a Library staff person (in 2016 or 2017) due to mounting health challenges, Judy would remain a friend through brief moments of conversation.

Born in Ireton, Iowa and buried locally in Oakland Cemetery, Judy Booth was a person committed to the local and regional library community and a committed friend to the end.

Alongside the contributions of Judy Booth were those of Fred Evans, whose passing was announced by the Stanley Area Historical Society. Fred was their vice president for a number of years, next to David Jankoski as President. The February 4th, 2021 issue of the Stanley Republican newspaper reveals an obituary: Fred passing on January 29th, 2021, at the age of 83.

As a person, Fred would present a unique personality. Seemly having never married, Fred would instead spend a large part of his life traveling the world and residing in many different countries when teaching the language of English in connection to the U.S. Department of Defense. In having an opportunity to speak with Fred for a number of hours, one afternoon in 2016, he would reveal many interesting adventures involving his world-wide teaching travels.

Upon retirement, Fred would move to Stanley Wisconsin and begin to integrate himself with a number of local groups. Fred’s participation with the local Library, D.R. Moon Memorial Public Library, would begin when becoming a library patron, and then a few years later, in 2004, began attending Friends of the Library meetings. Eventually it would be common place for Fred to attend F.D.R.M.L. meetings. Fred would attend F.D.R.M.L’s final meeting on November 26th, 2019, a few weeks ahead of a national news story revealing a virus that would eventually become known as COVID-19, resulting in the first announced national U.S. pandemic in over a century, since the year 1918, and leading F.D.R.M.L. administration, for the first time, to forgo calling any F.D.R.M.L. meetings during a time period of one-year.

Born in Stanley Wisconsin on December 9, 1938 to Marlowe and Dorothy (Toft) Evans, Fred Evans passed on January 29, 2021, leaving behind a rich legacy of community and social involvement, along with many other achievements.

The D.R. Moon Library is now open! For more information keep an eye on the Facebook page, along with the Library Director’s monthly column in this newspaper. For this month’s library report, see the page to the left.

Reports are generally made the second week of each month.

December 2016 D. R. Moon Library Holiday program. From left to right: Library board member Lori Cooley; Library staff Michelle Schneider; Library board member Lance Carlson; then-library director Lori Stanek; Library Staff Diane Stasko; Santa; Library staff Judy Booth; and assumed to be, Library Staff Chris Grantman.

Upon completion of term as Library Trustee, Fred would continue his Library support through visits to F.D.R.M.L. meetings, and the continued placement of newspaper articles and images and attend Library Book Club meetings. At left, Fred Evans. The middle image is believe to be Freds’ final library support newspaper image, the 2019 Summer Reading Program. At right, Fred helping serve ice cream for the 2018 Library Summer reading program. Health challenges would become more prominent in the final years. Submitted photo collage.