Marilyn Shea starts a new chapter
By Joan Janzen
joanjanzen@yahoo.com
Patrons of the Kindersley Wheatland Regional Library will be sure to miss seeing Marilyn Shea’s smiling face when they come to visit. Marilyn officially retired on December 11, 2021, and has recently undergone knee surgery, which coincided with her retirement.
“I decided it was time I quit,” Marilyn said as she recovers during the cold winter months. “Maybe some new ideas will come out. There’s always something new someone else can do to bring people in.”
Marilyn worked at the Kindersley Branch of Wheatland Regional Library since 1988, replacing Mrs. Alice Lewis. “There were three head librarians before me,” she explained.
Marilyn grew up just south of Kindersley, attended school at Glidden from grades 1 to 7, and spent her high school years at Kindersley. She took a library technician course in Saskatoon, worked at Saskatoon Public Library for almost two years, followed by a work period at the library at Westberry School before her employment at the Kindersley library.
“When I started in 1988, we hand-stamped everything. Over the years, I’ve taken a lot of training for computer programs,” Marilyn said. “But primarily you need to have a really good interest in books and people.”
Marilyn also belonged to the Kindersley Integrated Children’s Services and the Kindersley Integrated Networking group, an information-sharing network. For many years Marilyn helped organize the library’s annual book sale, held the week after Thanksgiving. Over three hundred boxes of books were hauled out to the Kindersley Mall for the annual sale. Now patrons can purchase books that are conveniently stored in the upper level of the library.
For many years, Marilyn and her husband lived ten miles from town, which meant she had to drive to work every day in all kinds of weather conditions. She admits that at times she navigated the journey home when she shouldn’t have because of inclement weather. Nevertheless, there was only about six or seven days that she couldn’t return home from work.
Marilyn has met a lot of people during her years at the library. During recent years she found herself meeting the kids of people who came to story time when she first started working at the library.
“I’ll miss the people the most. I made some really good friends, and that’s where I saw them,” Marilyn said. Even though she’s been retired for less than a month, she loves to read so she’s been paying weekly visits to the library. “But I’m not missing work on these cold days,” she added.
The community of Kindersley thanks Marilyn for all her years spent at the library and hopes she enjoys her retirement.
