I am so sorry to hear of Toni's passing. I worked with her for three years at VBDL when I was a page there, and also went to high school and was good friends with her daughter Olivia. During my time at VBDL I admired Toni's enthusiasm for and dedication to Decatur and all of Van Buren County's local history. Special prayers for VBDL, her family, and anyone else who knew Toni. I will never forget you, "the local history lady!" April Howe ----- Original Message ----- From: rwieber@btc-bci.com To: michlib-l@mail.mcls.org Sent: Saturday, July 6, 2013 4:05:58 PM Subject: [Michlib-l] Toni Benson, Van Buren District Library Dear Colleagues,      I am sorry to report that our dear and beloved Local History Librarian, Toni Benson, has passed away after a long and courageous fight with cancer.      Toni had a sincere passion in collecting, preserving and making available local history and genealogy materials; and she genuinely loved helping researchers of all skill levels with their quests.  Her talents directly created a local history department known for its outstanding resources and services in southwestern Michigan, and her enthusiasm for local history has been passed on to countless researchers, volunteers and librarians.  We will truly miss her.      Funeral arrangements: Visitation is Monday, July 8, 4-8pm at Betzler Funeral Home 60900 M-40, Paw Paw, MI.  Funeral service is Tuesday, July 9, 10am at Betzler Funeral Home. Ryan Wieber, Director Van Buren District Library 200 N Phelps St Decatur MI 49045 269-423-4771 _______________________________________________ Michlib-l mailing list Michlib-l@lists.mcls.org http://lists.mlcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/michlib-l