A mobile whose design is based on the work of local art students has been purchased with library endowment funds and dedicated to the memory of lifelong Merrill resident and T.B. Scott Free Library benefactor Jane Zander, who passed away in 2009.
T.B. Scott Free Library, through a trust in her name, the Merrill Historical Society, and her church were the institutional beneficiaries of Jane Zander’s estate.
Jane Zander was best known to many Merrill residents and students from her employment as a secretary at Merrill High School for over 30 years, from 1951 through the end of the 1980-81 school year.
In fact, Jane’s contributions to T.B. Scott Free Library in particular go back decades, as she was instrumental in the library’s hiring of Ellie Schwarz, who has since been a valued T.B. Scott Free Library employee for over 35 years.
Zander attended Lincoln School in Merrill, and graduated from Merrill High School in 1936. Her mother, Margaret, was a teacher at French Ridge School in the Town of Pine River.
Jane grew up literally surrounded by a sense of history, as the house in Merrill in which she lived had been in her family for three generations.
Jane’s lifelong appreciation for history was expressed through her volunteer work as a docent with the Merrill Historical Society. She also contributed to the community as a volunteer at T.B. Scott Free Library and the community food pantry. Jane was also recognized for 60 years of membership in the local chapter of the P.E.O. Sisterhood.
T.B. Scott Free Library and, by extension, all of Merrill’s citizens will long benefit from Jane’s generosity. Jane Zander’s wonderful example is a reminder that library endowment funds come from members of our community – in all walks of life – who believe that T.B. Scott Free Library is an essential institution, and that their donations will enable the tradition of excellence they have come to expect from their library to continue for many years to come.