Mary E. Youngkin passed away on July 11, 2021 at her home in Salt Lake City, Utah. A dear friend and colleague, she is survived by her brothers, Tom Gillespie of Winterset, Iowa and Dan Gillespie of Glen Allen, Virginia and his family. She was preceded in death by her parents Leo and Jean Gillespie.
Mary graduated from University of Iowa, B.A. with a teaching certificate in English and later obtained her Masters in Library Science from Brigham Young University. She was member of the modern dance group, RDT2 in the 1980's. She retired as Librarian Emeritus in 2011 after 36 years at the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library at the University of Utah, serving as head of Reference and Public Services since the late 1980's, where her commitment to teaching, service and student success remain legendary. Mary's passion and knowledge for gardening and history of medicine intertwined when she started the Library's Medicinal Garden with plants from her own garden. She leaves behind many friends and colleagues and a legacy of kindness, warmth, and humor. Her avid enthusiasm for live music, especially 'them blues' widened her circle of humanity. Dance on Mary! Listen to music, preferably live, in celebration of her life. "All acts of kindness are lights in the war for justice." – Joy Harjo
A celebration of life will be scheduled later this Fall.
Donations (with URLs) can be made to:
Eccles Health Sciences Library Medicinal Garden at https://library.med.utah.edu/blog/eccles/2021/07/21/mary-youngkin-medicinal-garden-fund/ or
Utah Blues Society arhttps://utahbluessociety.org/donate-online or
Tree Utah at https://www.treeutah.org/give/donate-online
