Last month we were saddened to hear about the passing of our longtime volunteer Jean Abplanalp. Jean volunteered at Hagley for 30 years and most recently worked on projects for the Audiovisual and Digital Collections Department (formerly Pictorial Collections).
Image: Jean receives an award at Hagley's volunteer recognition ceremony in 2010
Jean was a tenacious and thorough researcher who had a passion for and love of local history. She donated thousands of hours researching photographs for the library. In 2012 she completed her research on the Zebley-Hoffecker photograph albums, adding tremendous value to an important collection of Delaware history. In the last few years, Jean had been researching photographs of the Delaware School Auxiliary which document the history of African American Schools in the state. The staff at AVD will complete that work in her honor.
“She truly cherished her time at Hagley,” wrote Jean’s granddaughter, Meg Abplanalp, to us in an email. Jean brought her grandkids to Hagley many times through the years and Meg assisted her grandmother on research for the Library. Throughout her time away in recent months, Jean sent AVD staff emails letting us know she would be back soon to continue her work. We were shocked and saddened to hear of her passing.
Jean was a dedicated volunteer and a meticulous historian but, more importantly, she was a kind person who never failed to bring her positive energy to Hagley. We speak for the entire Hagley community when we say that she will be missed.
Written by the staff of the Audiovisual Collections and Digital Initiatives Department