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Maidel Cason was a feminist, a librarian, a teacher, a missionary, a fierce seeker of justice who put on no airs and lived her values. She loved to learn and to teach, but mostly she loved to help others. She passed away on January 8 after a long journey with Alzheimer's. Maidel was born in Houston. After graduating from Rice Institute in two years with a degree in biology, she and her husband became missionaries teaching at Cuttington College in Liberia in 1952. While living in Liberia, Maidel had five children. Maidel later took a Post Graduate Diploma in Librarianship and an MA in African Bibliography at University College, London. When the family returned to the U.S. in 1971, Maidel worked in the library in Naperville and then joined the transportation and then African Studies library at Northwestern. In 1986 she took a position at the University of Delaware Library, where she continued to experiment and learn about library services and management. She retired from Delaware in 1995 and returned to Evanston where she taught at the Library School at Dominican University and taught some of the first "distance-learning" courses. She rejoined the Methodist Church and the Sisters and Brothers community (SisBros) that had been a key part of her life since the 1970s. Throughout her life, Maidel worked hard for racial and economic justice. She greatly admired Eleanor Roosevelt and was a passionate supporter of Planned Parenthood. Maidel was also active with the Democratic Party and registered voters for the League of Women's Voters. After she retired from Dominican, she joined the board of the Evanston Library. She moved to Three Crowns in 2008. She is survived by her brother Norman and sister Lida as well as four children: Jim (Lora) Cason of Washington, DC, John (Mary Sue) Cason of Schaumburg, IL, Alice (George) Sharrett of Olympia, WA and Ann (Mark) Cason-Snow of Cambridge, MA. She also has 7 grandchildren: Emily (Luke), Grace, Claire, Ella, Milo, Henry, and Lilian. A celebration of her life will be held at the United Church of Rogers Park on Saturday, March 3 at 2pm followed by a reception. In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to the United Church's Community Feast. Remembrances of Maidel can also be posted at https://maidelcason.wordpress.com/
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