Finding your way with Jane.

Often in photography,you regret the one photo that you didn't have the opportunity to take. Tonight, upon coming home from a meeting, I learned of the sudden loss of Jane Churchill, the librarian at the Durham Library. I knew very little of Jane's personal life since I knew only of her from our little trips to the library. But the mark she left on me and (I would venture to say) everyone who passed through the library doors was indelible. There were few that looked so comfortable in the setting of books as Jane did. I met her shortly after moving to the area. In my third year here, I would discover photography. Over the long winter months, I would park myself in the photography section, sitting kris-crossed on the floor trying to absorb just a few bits of knowledge to my newfound craft. Jane would get used to me sitting there, often stepping over me as she would shelve books.  She would smile, ask questions and show her encouragement. On two occasions, Durham library would come up on my caller ID and I would hear Jane's voice.  Waiting for the admonishment for my overdue books, rather, I would hear optimism through the line. She would tell me of a new book she had taken upon herself to order or put aside knowing of my voracious appetite for photography.  She wanted to help people learn. It is clear to me now, how kind her heart was. I am sure I am not the only one who had experiences like this with Jane. She had an amazing ability to help people find their way. Maybe this is why she would become a librarian and do her job so well. This was her miracle she would share with us. She would guide you to a book and make you feel like you were discovering it yourself. She was the type of person that makes living in a small town worth while. As in a Rockwell painting, you would wish to seek out the familiar character as you walk into the coffee shop, post office or local library. A fixture like Jane is why you keep coming back. Getting a cup of coffee, a book of stamps or a new best seller would be the perfect excuse for coming back time and time again to see people like Jane.  You simply feel more connected to what's good in life around good people   I need to know little of her personal life to know she connected to everyone she met. My one regret in Jane was that I never had the chance to photograph her. I may have a photo from a party of her, but no true portrait.  I always thought her graceful features and subtle laugh lines completed the perfect soul that lay beneath. It would also have been a tangible memory of her. Now she must continue on in my mind.  Jane Churchill, you will be missed in more ways than I'll every know. As I search for my next book, I still hope you guide me from afar.