A personal letter to Family and Friends
Charlene (Char) passed in her sleep 31 January 2025
You will be gladly-sadly missed.
I've written a lot Previously about my time with my Mother...
sigh
Now, it seems that I get another chance, bittersweet as this may be.
weeps
I tend to get quite a bit existential when asked to dwell upon such an expansive tale. I seem to 'over-think' things when faced with such a task; but, what is an over-educated orphan to do when faced with the fact that I was consciously gifted such closeness and inclusive acceptance into such a beautiful Family?
Who am I?
I'm Andy, and the Son of Charlene and James Hurt.
How great/terrible/wonderful/horrendous it is to truly be Alive!
I would not be alive were it not that a 15yo girl and her 18yo “bo” made some decisions that didn't include much forethought, back in 1967; they were unprepared for the actual results of their actions.
One can only imagine how difficult such a situation must be (see: The Girls Who Went Away ). Fortunately, Hillcrest adoption agency came to the rescue of many who found themselves in such a position at the time.
One of those was me.
My adoptive Parents had spent some years trying to (unsuccessfully) conceive. In their desire to enrich their experience, they decided to adopt; they took me in at 2-weeks of age.
They loved me.
They cared about me.
They valued me.
They sewed the seed of the Man I have become, now.
blessings
A year later, our Family was Made-Complete with the birth of my Sister, Lisa.
Complete has more to do with my reflection on who We were (now), than the semi-developed thoughts of a young child (at the time).
Looking-back, our Family Life (between 1970 and 1976) was the most satisfying period of My life. These Formative years define the "Me" I am now, and my heart is Full in all the remembrances.
I am reminded of an afternoon a few years ago with one of my previous Clients (John F. Kennedy's Granddaughter).
We had assembled the Christmas tree, and--in our palaver--we talked about the pleasures in the smells of a fresh-cut tree.
"It's just so pleasant to behold such aroma."
How nice it is to use the sense of smell to re-visit all the lovely, previous moments in our living.
We talked about our past experiences, and appreciation of memories of evenings sitting-around with our Family, stringing-together popcorn-and-cranberries (simple, constructive adornments that added to these repeated warm moments, in-Time).
We did precious, special things--together--as a Unit; and, it was Good
Why am I here?
That’s the question, isn’t it?
Why is it that I find myself writing these very words?
Am I a fluke? Is this OK? Do I have purpose?
Sometimes, I suppose, it profits a Person to just be.
Where am I going?
Last week, my Family had a yet-another chance to be fully present in that Space where we were faced with the inevitable Y on the Path of our Lives.
Not a fork, but a definite A <—> B split.
I always thought that the old “fork in the road” adage meant that we inherently hold a choice in the matter.
full-stop
Why don’t WE have a choice in the matter?
Ha! Such hubris! Who are we to lay-claim to the helm of Time.
So, it’s so; sometimes things just happen, and there’s nothing we can do but accept the way things are, and (if it gets messy (and we have the where-withal to do so)) pick-up the pieces.
My Beautiful Sister asked that I create a Story; to arrange these pieces into a tale of Joyful Memory that we could All enjoy.
I am honored to be tasked with such a thing.
Thank you, Lisa :)
Now
Char passed in her sleep 31 January 2025
Char was a lot of people, to a lot of folks.
Char's Sister, Chips (Arlene has always been a "chip off of the Ole Block"), and I were talking about these things the other day:
"Charlene showed me that I could be more in my life than a regular person. I could do or be anything that I wanted if I choose too. She was proud of me and I was very grateful to her. Loved her a lot." --Chips
She was a movement in her own right; a veritable spark that lit the eyes, ideas, thoughts, and passions of so, so many people in Her time.
"She inspired me!" --Chips
I’m sitting here (on the floor, in a puddle) trying to remember the first time I actually remember that I realized my “Mom” to be my mother (I would ask my Sister the same question, but we are All just {currently} inhabiting a moment of silence trying to sort things out, and make sense of all this loss/transition).
“First Memories” in such an expanse of time are always tough to remember. Was it bath time? Lunches? Playtime?
The greater the jar of memories, the deeper a hand must go….
When She came to me one day, and explained how it was time that I went to live with my Father, James. I was like:
“This is a trial period, right?”
...and it fell to Char to break the news to me that we must ultimately accept the results of our actions, and that sometimes others more powerful than us get to make the decision whether we go-down Path-A, or Path-B
When She would pick me up at the Station, after I rode the bus to KC, and drive me back to Topeka so we could spend a few hours together over our short, short alternating weekends. And, yes: Char would drive me back to KC on Sunday afternoon, and make sure that I got on the bus back to Nevada, MO (where my Dad would retrieve me), so I could return to daily-life, school, normalcy.
The new Normal.
I’m a Child of the Reagan “we’re gana be nuked-to-shit!” Era, and I distinctly remember my obsession—in these back-and-forth trips—with the blue&white grain silos that littered the Midwest. I always would claim to her that any silo with an American Flag was a secret missile silo ;) . . . it was some years, later, that Char found a map of where the actual Nike Installations were, and gifted it to me.
One of the many side-trips on my 30th HS Reunion was to drive-by these actual Installations. Inevitably, they were (now? then?) just fenced-in areas filled with broken-down busses, tractors, and all the detritus inherent to should-have-been farm life… a testament to the ephemeralness, frivolity, wastefulness, and history of such endeavors.
She was a Librarian, you see, and naturally knew how to find the things we inevitably all wanted to find.
“I want to know everything!”
I once said.
She replied:
“Oh, Andrew! That’s wonderful! But, remember: there’s just too, too much to know. That’s why libraries exist. You just need to know the questions to ask, who to ask, and what to look-for.”
Char bio at Prabook (a bit outdated, it seems).
In 1992, Char published A Vision of the Library of the 21st Century
Librarians have been talking about the library of the 21st century as “paperless” and “electronic” for about fifteen years – ever since F.W. Lancaster gave his first talk on the subject. 1 What that library would be like, however, has not always been clear to us. In an effort to clarify our ideas and overcome our fears, in 1986 the librarians of Fenwick Library of George Mason University went on a retreat, determined to return with a description of the “electronic library.” It was the first step in a process we have come to call “imagining the library of the future.” The results of that retreat set the parameters for our planning since then.
Char was Dean of Libraries at Georgia State University from 1998-2008.
Lee Orr (fellow Faculty, and close friend of Char, working together at Georgia State University) recently told me:
"Charlene professionalized and transformed the GSU Library, and we will always be grateful for her many contributions, and talents."
"Wonderful lady."
Char co-authored Library Architecture and Design:
A survey of the evolution of library architecture and interior design during the latter half of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries focuses on the change from libraries primarily designed to hold paper collections, sometimes used only in the library, to libraries primarily designed to provide access to technology, digitally stored information, and research and learning spaces. The societal changes that led to the growing role of libraries as places for building community, collaborating, and engaging in independent learning are also discussed.
In Building Libraries for the 21st Century: The Shape of Information, Char authored the essay "The Johnson Center Library at George Mason University" (pp. 82-104) which:
...presents a model case study, giving ample attention to what motivated the new library and placing it strongly in campus-wide thinking about space for learning.
In a separate article, “Building Libraries in the Virtual Age,” published in 1997 (College & Research Libraries News 58 [February]: 75-76, 91) 4, [Charlene] Hurt observes that:
“experiential learning takes place anywhere, any time, in a variety of environments, often social. . . . The popularity of bookstores that serve drinks and food demonstrates a preference for a more casual, social environment [in libraries], as does our students’ preference for seating in highly visible areas”
With Sharon Rogers, Char co-authored How Scholarly Communication Should Work in the 21st Century "...proposing a scholarly information system using the new digital technologies, impressively foreshadowing future developments." 6
Laura Burtle quotes Char:
"I was very proud of that."
I've been talking with as many of Char's peers&friends as I possibly can (remember (and who are still living)):
{insert dialog with Kathy}
{time-be-time, my Sister}
{conversation(s) TBD}
In A Discussion with Charlene Hurt and Rich Meyer 6, Laura highlights:
She also sees the movement from solo learning to collaborative learning as having had a big impact on libraries, leading to a radically different view of the function of the library building and changing relationships with the academic community.
I talked with Laura by phone, today, and our reminiscence was so, so sweet. It hits-home just how important Char's work with her peers has become in their own lives.
Finally was able to talk with Barbara Ford, today, and I am re-reminded of just how important it is to re-connect, and share our affinity to what helps us make sense of Who We actually Are.
I held a fantastic Zoom call with Eric Schuman today . . . such a depth of history, and appreciation can only be had by-virtue of such endeavor.
Char's peers, friends, confidants, and incredibly awesome women&men; all of whom I have been able to share some experience with, and consider my friends.
It amazes me how easy it is to continue as we re-visit a conversation of 'togetherness', even after two, and three, decades of silence . . . amazing, to say the least :)
These beautiful people are also My Family.
One person does not ever do just one thing, and we are all constantly supported and intertwined with all the others in our lives.
We are all More by-virtue of those with whom we collaborate, and work.
There are many with whom I am not in contact, and many others who are also not among the living. They deserve no less recognition.
...{memories again start to flow}...
I’ve had a chance to trip to Colorado a few times over the past few decades, and each time I newly-remembered our earlier jaunts (those few we were able to manage, as a Family of Four, back in the early 70’s).
I have this image of Char taking a paring knife, and carefully slicing-off the layer of mold that surrounded the cheese that we carried in that old cooler we used when we tripped up into the Mountains.
Waking in the middle of the night—in that obnoxious Sears tent that took the four of us approximately 17 hours to assemble, each night—to a short, awkward mental-video of my Dad&Mom making love.
That smile on her face, I will never forget :)
pause
The way Char would stick her tongue out, part-way past her lips—her breath whispering across—in concentration as she pressed the cloth into the needle of a sewing machine as she made my Sister and I pieces of clothing for us to wear in times when off-the-rack items just didn’t fit the moment, our mood or our wallet.
I remember complaining (to her) that School was just too much effort, and that I didn’t think I could “do it”.
She replied:
I held a FT job during the day, cared for your Sister (and you) at the same time, and I still managed to get my Master(s) in the evenings. If you really want something, you’ll do what you have to do to make it happen.
Every time I find myself feeling overwhelmed with all that I am tasked (or have tasked myself) to do, you are there with me, Mom, reminding me of my abilities.
Inevitably, I get lost in all the time-tangents. Life is a lot, and our Living was Great.
“What’s your take-away?” Is a question a good friend of mine asks me almost daily.
Here I am, faced with the goal of distilling the Essence of years, upon years; miles, upon miles; gallons, upon gallons; moments, upon moments.
Like everything else, it’s just Too Much. Not Enough. Never Enough. Complete.
Everything.
Complete.
There’s just no, real way to paraphrase the Being of an individual. Char created an infinity of unlimited worlds in the Universe of all of our Beings.
Many-mini-Universes that would have never existed, but by the Creation of Her own.
A complete simulation of the Universe is just the Universe, itself. --David Zindell
It’s just not possible to condense; to distill the Essence of an individual’s Life into a few sentences.
breathes
My only real regret, is that I am now unable to share the beauty (with my Parents) of my recent inclusion into the loving, welcoming arms of my new Family:
Hillside and (as a new Teacher) Hillside Conant School
I have been welcomed into their loving arms, and this easy warmth fills me with a peace and serenity I had never-imagined, previously.
May it be that my new Super Power becomes that I continue to encourage and feed my kiddos, and fellow Educators, with the energy and spirit that my new-found Family gladly shares on-the-daily :)
sigh
I miss you, Mom.
Char was born on 10 August, 1940 . . . it would take me another 84 years to really share her Story.
That She caressed, hope-filled and nurtured the hearts of so many in her short, short Time is as good a summary as any for which an individual could ever hope.
Thank you, my Mother; my Baby; my Sage; my Friend; my Sister.
You will be gladly-sadly missed.