Our dear friend and generous donor, Lou Hannum, passed away. He was 100 years old, and we had the pleasure of celebrating that 100th year on May 31, 2015. He and his lovely family created a memorial fund in honor of his wife of 71 years, Carolyn.

They decided to fund a program that would bring folks into the libraries, and they wanted to encourage young children to read and use the libraries. As a result, the Outreach to Daycare program was chosen for support. That program takes big tote bags full of children’s books, along with puppets and tips for reading to kids, to local daycare centers and homes. Those kids receive a volunteer or staff member for story times, and the bag is replenished each month with new books and goodies. In the last fiscal year, 26,538 kids benefited from the program and from the Hannum Family donation.

I spent a lot of time with Lou since meeting him about this donation to the Foundation – because he was an amazing person. He had stories to tell, he was insightful, smart, caring, funny, engaging, helpful. We watched Will Rogers movies in the afternoons and talked and talked. He loved books. We loved him.

He left a big impression on so many of us. You can too, if you’d like to acknowledge him, please consider a donation to the Carolyn and Lou Hannum Fund. He would have appreciated it. We certainly do.