Marie Elizabeth DEYOUNG

1952 - 2022

MARIE ELIZABETH DEYOUNG 1952 - 2022 Marie Elizabeth DeYoung hung out a perfect line of clothes a week before she died. 'That's my last line,' she said as her sheets dried in the wind and sun just as they were supposed to do. A day later, Marie spent the last day in her Halifax home putting her documents into folders - one for legal documents, one for subscriptions, one for appliance manuals, one for bank and credit card accounts. A librarian by vocation and by disposition, she saw putting files in the right folders as a first principle. A principle with a purpose. Get yourself organized, and you might just put the precious time you have on earth to good use. Marie did just that. In her last year of life, after major surgery, Marie seized the day by taking one final trip to Europe. She always flew business class, stayed in good hotels, dined well and came home after a few days to her spotless home on a leafy Halifax street to watch Jeopardy on her ancient cathode ray TV. Earlier in the day, pre-Jeopardy, Marie would tune her stereo to CBC Radio to listen to classical music while she read a book. A glass of fresh water was left on an end table for Alice, her cat. A half dozen or so novels, borrowed from the Halifax Public Library, were stacked neatly on the coffee table. Marie worked in libraries for most of her career, though she never called it work. Managing information, cataloguing books, guiding students through the stacks and through life - these were all part of the vocation she loved. Her distinguished career was also reflective of that passion. After completing her Master of Library Service degree at Dalhousie University in 1980, Marie managed libraries at the Nova Scotia Departments of Justice and Labour before taking senior positions at the Nova Scotia Community College and finally Saint Mary's University, where she served as University Librarian for ten years before retiring in 2018. Her years at Saint Mary's were the hallmark of her career. She was a driving force behind the creation of a new library on campus, one designed to bring students, staff and the collection together in a friendly, nurturing learning environment. Indeed, the library and its adjoining atrium quickly became the heart of the multicultural little campus in the south end of Halifax. Marie was a sought-after speaker in her field and her awards would have filled a trophy case if she had been the kind of person who kept one. (Her university degrees were stored in the basement beside the furnace.) She served on the executive of the Canadian Library Association for four years, including two as President in 2014-2015. In her career, as in her life, Marie cultivated friendships that lasted for decades, or for a lifetime when it came to her relationships with two women who grew up with her in Pomquet, Nova Scotia: her sister Mary (DeYoung) Blyth (Brandon) and her cousin Maureen (DeYoung) Meek (Halifax). In addition to Mary and Maureen, she is survived by Mary's husband Scott and their son Colin (Brandon); Maureen's husband Jim; and their children Colin (Seattle) and Heather (Montreal). She was predeceased by her parents, Francis DeYoung and Ethel (Melanson) DeYoung, and by her niece Jillian Blyth. Marie will be remembered by her friends as unwaveringly loyal, fiercely independent, and doggedly determined. During the past quarter century, she endured a series of cancers and other illnesses with a stiff upper lip and great dignity. She might have wanted your support, but never your pity. On April 15, the day after Marie put her affairs in order at home, she was admitted to the Palliative Care Unit at the Victoria General Hospital. The care on the ward was extraordinary. On the day before she died, she shooed away help from friends and caregivers as she moved from her bed to her chair and back again. On the morning of April 20, 2022, at the age of 69 years, she died quietly with three close friends at her side. Back at her home, Marie had left detailed instructions about how to manage her estate. She knew those left behind wouldn't get the job done to the standards she set for herself, but Marie wanted to give them every chance to do it well. A private celebration of Marie's life will be held at a later date. Donations can be made to a charity of your choice. Marie's favourites included the World Wildlife Fund and Bide Awhile animal shelter.