Book lover extraordinaire -- who took her passion for books and love of reading steps further -- dedicating her life and her love of our library into a 29-year tenure on the Park Forest Library Board, giving several generations of Park Foresters a glimpse of a woman who touches all with whom she comes in contact. A physician in real life, Alice has never rested on her laurels. Instead, her arms have reached out into all facets of our community life as she has dedicated that life and her service to our village for many years.

In 1975, Alice took the plunge, making a giant step from avid library user to elective office as Park Forest Library Board trustee. Even then, those of us on the board knew that this woman was going to make a difference. Our library was in its heyday in those years - a "name" in the Chicago area.

There was not a task, a duty, that she shirked. Her quiet dignity, her intelligence, her ability to get down to brass tacks and move ever forward made her a shoo-in for Library Board president by the early `80s. Alice's forthrightness in speaking up on her strongly held beliefs have always kept the board on its toes in vital times. There was no doubt: when Alice spoke, everyone listened - and no one forgot. But when things were tense, or the board was lagging a bit on a late night, we could always count on Alice for a sudden dose of much needed levity with her flashes of the wildest wit ever heard in the Ringering Room of the library.

An active Friend and one of its founders, all of the Friends will recognize that Alice is not lacking in talent. An inveterate reader and lover of poetry, this woman can put pen in hand and turn out a wealth of wonderful book reviews in footnotes . . . then often will add a further literary touch by choosing favorite selections of poetry to crown the final pages of many issues -- pages that have remained a large drawing card to the reading audience.

Alice Racher, at the May 13, 2004 board meeting, was the first Park Forest Library trustee to be elected to the status of Trustee Emeritus. Her gifts to our library -- gifts of herself and her time -- along with her enviable talents, her enduring love of library and books, and her ability to be considered a friend and helpmate to several generations of new trustees will always set this woman apart.

She has done so much to keep our library's star in the crown of our village so shiny that she will be missed as a wonderful asset to our Library Board. But Alice will still be around. Our library is considered "her other home." We'll see her there and find that she will continue to light up our lives. . . as she always has.

                           -- Joan Larsen

A good book is the best of friends,
the same today and forever.
                  Martin Farquhar Tupper (1810-1889)
 

Return to Home Page