Frances Rosalie Nowak

1944 - 2019

(News story) Frances Rosalie Nowak, who spent 47 years working for the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, died Oct. 10 at the Franciscan Care Center. She was 75.

She had cancer and had been ill for the past three months, said her sister, Florence.

Ms. Nowak began working as a page for the Toledo-Lucas County Public Librarysystem during the early 1960s while still in a student at Central Catholic High School. After graduation, she worked part-time at Tiedke's and then four years at Jeep before returning to the library.

During her time, she worked her way up through multiple positions - from a page to circulation supervisor, among others - performing duties from repairing books and writing book descriptions on card catalogs to writing and compiling information for the library newspaper Between Lines. She would also write letters to politicians about budget matters for the library.

"She actually enjoyed working behind the scenes," Florence Nowak said. "She was pretty practical about getting things done. And when she wanted something done, she was determined to get it done one way or the other."

When not working for the library behind the scenes, Ms. Nowak was an avid traveler. She liked to go fishing, go on cruises, and she liked to drive on back roads to get wherever she was going.

" I think she had Davy Crockett's blood in her. She liked to go off the beaten path and into the unknown," Florence Nowak said.

But everywhere she went, she took her love of the libraries with her.

"If we were out of town and visiting some small town, and if they had a library, she headed over there to see what was going on," Florence Nowak said. "She liked to see how they function, what their circulation was... she would let them know she was in the libraries too and just talk to the people there."

Her other passions were listening and dancing to music - namely polka and rock and roll. She was proud to have seen Elvis Presley and The Beatles in concert.

During her spare time closer to home, she was past president and secretary of the St. Stanislaus Ladies Catholic Benevolent Association, Polish American Community of Toledo, and sang in the church choir. She also enjoyed gardening and collecting teddy bears.

"She enjoyed life and she knew how to relax," her sister said. "But then she was also good about helping others, whether it was getting their meds or taking them to the doctors."

She was born Feb. 24, 1944, to Frank and Florence Nowak in Philidelphia, Pa. They moved to the Toledo area five years later.

Surviving are her sister, Florence, and brother Thomas.

Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday in St. Hyacinth Catholic Church with funeral mass at noon.

Burial in Ottawa Hills Memorial Park will be private and take place at a later date.

The family suggests tributes to St. Hyacinth Catholic Church in Ms. Nowak's name or another charity of the donor's choice.

This is a news story by Jeff Schmucker. Contact him at jschmucker@theblade.com or 419-724-6081.