On Friday, November 11, our dear friend, colleague, and mentor, Lisa Finnegan, died peacefully at her home. When looking back at a person’s life, we often focus on their family. This would be perfect for Lisa, for she loved her family more than anything – her grandchildren, children, siblings, nieces, nephews, and parents. We also often focus on a person’s career. For Lisa, this would also be a good story to tell. She dedicated her life to education, beginning as a special education teacher before moving into school administration. She was honored to do this work and felt privileged, as she said, to have “touched the future.”
Still, those of us at Loras knew Lisa in a different context from her family and career. Her position these last six years as Acquisitions, Reserves, & Interlibrary Loan Coordinator was her “retirement job” and so we were able to experience yet another side of her. Like most things, Lisa took on her work in the Library with great enthusiasm and energy. Faculty members were amazed how she could find the most obscure items through interlibrary loan and loved the positive and personal approach she gave to something as mundane as putting a DVD on reserve. She would also go out of her way to help library users, doing things like driving over to University of Dubuque to pick up items so they could be used as soon as possible or employing her philosophy of “it’s easier to get forgiveness than permission” to get around some obstacle. Her most important contribution, however, was simply being her authentic self for anyone who entered the library.
Library users saw her as a welcoming presence, smiling at everyone. She genuinely was happy to see you and her agenda was simply listening to you. This was especially true for the Library student workers and her colleagues. She knew when to bring in a little silliness and humor whether through her toys and games, one of her great stories, or dressing up as the Finals Fairy. She also looked out for those having a rough time and would leave small gifts for them to brighten their day, teach them her mantra, or just provide a listening ear. Students struggling to find balance between school and their library work were not taken to task for failing to keep up but taken under her wing. She would come to their aid, ask them if they were okay, and help them balance everything on their plates. She even looked out for their everyday needs, purchasing snacks for students because she knew that some of them didn’t have time for lunch or dinner before their library shifts. She also taught us to delight in the small things of life – like a whipped cream maker for Thursdays in the Library – but also to delight in one another through the social events she planned.
At her funeral, Father Russell Bleich emphasized Lisa’s compassionate heart. This is what she brought to all aspects of her life – her family, her career in education, and her time at Loras. This is what ties us all together and what we can carry on in remembrance of her. Well, that and the absolute joy of her infectious laughter, audible throughout the whole Library’s main floor. We shall miss that laugh.
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