Amy Marie Whalen

Amy Marie Whalen, age 48, passed away unexpectedly at her home on March 23, 2016. She was born on December 29, 1967 in Denver, Colorado to Virgil and Sally Linke. She graduated from Hart High School in 1986 then spent a few semesters at Ferris State University. After college she took many jobs working with the public. This nurtured her love of working with people. In 1990 she and her sisters all decided to leave home together and become nannies in Massachusetts. This is where Amy nurtured her love for children. Soon after she returned home, she reunited with her high school sweetheart John Whalen. They were married in 1993 and shortly after, Amy's Day Care was opened. In 1995 John and Amy had a beautiful baby boy, Cody James, the light of their lives. She stopped doing day care and started cleaning people's houses at night so that she could spend more time with their son during the day. Once Cody was in high school, Amy felt like she wanted to go back to working with people. She was so excited when she landed an interview at the Hart Public Library. She knew she nailed it when she told them she was "crafty". Amy put her heart and soul into the library. Her goal was to get people interested in reading books again and to just get people to come to the library. Whether it was for books, computers, story hour, crafts, movies or just to socialize with their friends. Every year she loved getting the kids excited about the Summer Reading Program and the end of summer picnic. She created a real sense of community at the Hart Public Library and everyone belonged. She treated every patron that walked in the door of the library like they were the most important person in the world and they felt it. Young and old would come in asking for "Miss Amy". She would help anyone with anything. She was very selfless and always put other's needs above her own. If she noticed that someone was spending an unusually long amount of time at the library, she wasn't afraid to ask questions. She once brought in food and empty pop cans for a homeless man and she helped a young woman who was camping in the woods at night find a place to stay until she was able to get a permanent home. She kept tabs on all of the children who came into the library, and was so proud of them all. She loved spending time with all of her nieces and nephews, from the time they were babies all the way to adulthood. Above all, she loved caring for her beloved husband John and their son Cody. They were the light of her life and anyone who knew Amy knew this. She was truly an angel on earth and although we treasured having her kind soul in our lives every day, God had important work for her and brought her home to do it. Amy was preceded in death by her parents Virgil and Sally Linke. She is survived by her husband John and their son Cody, her siblings John (Tina) Linke and their children Kendra (Mike) Schaner and son Jackson and Janet (Dave) Martinez and son Abram; Susan (Bill) Kelley; Christine Kelly and her children Sarah and Thomas. Father and mother-in-law Dan and Dee Whalen, sister-in-law Kathy (Mark) Timmer and their children Kayla and Lindsey; brother-in-law Pat (Cori) Whalen and their children Carli and Chase. Visitation is Monday, March 28th, 11 am at Shelby Congregational United Church of Christ, 51 East Third Street in Shelby. The memorial service for Amy will follow Monday at 12 Noon at the church. Memorials may be directed to the Hart Public Library Summer Reading Program or Cody's trust fund.