Eileen O’Brien, former curator of library collections at the Manchester Historic Association, passed away Sunday, Sept. 9, after a courageous battle with cancer. Anyone who has visited the MHA library in recent years will have witnessed Eileen’s work in the upgrades and organization of the renovated library building and will have Eileen to thank for online access to thousands of photographs and catalogue listings now available for all to see.

This is a collection of hundreds of thousands documents and photos that, before Eileen began her work in 1996, largely existed in barely ordered piles in the dark recesses of the historic 1930s building. Through careful planning and diligence, Eileen managed over her 14 years there to rehouse Manchester history collections into acid-free containers to insure their longevity, and to make them more accessible to the public.

Eileen worked for seven summers with no air conditioning during times when the library’s upstairs temperatures would reach well into the upper nineties with humidity so thick it was difficult to breathe. But that’s where the library collections were. Eileen would work for hours, then take a walk to the local convenience store and ransack their popsicle supply to give her at least a bit of a break from the unbearable heat. Then she would return to brave the heat once more to continue the massive task of organizing the city’s recorded heritage.

Now visitors and staff alike can research in comfort and with much greater ease, in collections well cared for and accessed, due to the endurance and ability of Eileen.

Manchester owes a debt of gratitude to this quiet crusader for her dedicated efforts on behalf of the city and its history. As a native of Manchester, I owe her for all that she did to save the history of the city of my parents and grandparents. I worked along side her, managing the object collections, and I feel I owe her a debt that can never be repaid. In horrendous working conditions, we shared the hauling, cleaning and cataloguing of thousands of pounds of moldy, often dirty collections from the bowels and basements of the city’s mills and residences. Then there were the renovations and the reinstallation of new research, exhibit and storage spaces, which now house the collections. Eileen made it bearable.

I will treasure the memories of her bright smile, her keen wit, and her intrepid spirit. Her legacy will live on in all that she accomplished and in the many lives that she touched. She will be dearly missed.

If you would like to make a donation in memory of Eileen O’Brien, please consider the American Cancer Society.

Marylou Ashooh Lazos lives in Derry.