[Heb-NACO] Paul Maher's Obituary

[Taub, Jeremiah Aaron]

From: Morris, Susan <smor at loc.gov>
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2019 10:58 AM
To: LS/ABA Staff <LS_ABAStaff at loc.gov>
Subject: FW: Paul Maher's Obituary

ABA-Washington staff:  Beacher learned over the weekend that our treasured former colleague Paul Maher passed away this past May. I’m forwarding an obituary kindly supplied by Virginia Schoepf, former assistant chief of the Decimal Classification Division.

I’m forwarding this news to all members of ABA.  Supervisors don’t need to forward. -- Susan

From: Virginia Schoepf <schoepfvirginia at yahoo.com<mailto:schoepfvirginia at yahoo.com>>
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2019 9:52 AM
To: Wiggins, Beacher <bwig at loc.gov<mailto:bwig at loc.gov>>
Subject: Paul's Obituary

Beacher, A friend of Paul's sent me this that he wrote about him:


Our dear friend Paul passed away on Thursday night May 15 2019. He became ill while staying at his hotel in Iowa City, Iowa after spending the day doing research at the University of Iowa’s library. Paul was doing that day what was his most enjoyed passtime: visiting a major research library to mine information and resources for a major project on Jewish biography and journal articles. He had worked on this for years since his retirement, and nothing tickled him more than finding and accessing rare documentation that could be included in this ongoing project.


Paul was born in 1952 in the northern town of Viola Illinois. He lived in a smaller town near there during childhood with six brothers and his parents. He finished high school in Indiana, and then went to college at Marion College (now Indiana Wesleyan University), graduating in 1972.


Paul grew up in a religious environment, and from an early age was fascinated by Biblical history, especially that of the Jewish people. He made it his life’s work to study Hebrew, Biblical Greek, and theology. He studied at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, receiving two masters degrees. He spent a year abroad during this time, living and studying in Israel.


He worked for some years as a specialist at University Microfilms in Ann Arbor, but relocated to Washington DC to take a job at the Library of Congress in the 1980s. It soon became clear that Paul was a brilliant cataloguer, particularly in regards to Hebrew and Yiddish materials. He wrote “Hebraica Cataloging”,  THE standard manual in English as a guide to cataloging Hebrew resources in English-language libraries. This was published by the Library and is available full-text for free on the web.


When Paul retired in 2002, he moved back to the area where he grew up in Northern Illinois, settling down in Aledo. His research continued now as his chief avocation. He wrote an exhaustive bibliography to the works of Donald G. Bloesch, a noted Catholic theolgian, who mentored Paul during his days in Dubuque. It was published by Scarecrow Press in 2007.


Paul relocated to Champaign-Urbana in 2011, to tap into the vast collections of the University of Illinois’s libraries. Its location made day trips and short visits to surrounding university collections easy, and Paul loved to go on these jaunts. Over the years he amassed an enormous database of bibliographic information, that he was organizing for public use by Jewish scholars. Parts of it were used by Professor David J. A. Clines in his epic work: “The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew”.


In 2016, Paul moved to Quincy IL. His research continued, now focusing on the university libraries within a short distance from him in Iowa and Missouri. And it was while on his visit to Iowa City this week, that he suffered a heart attack.


Paul was well-loved by his friends, who live all around the world now. He had a modest demeanor that might not indicate just how smart and accomplished he was. The same was true of his sharp wit! He laughed easily and often, and was a superb storyteller. He loved to talk history, politics and religion, and could accommodate the views of those who might disagree, without rancor. He was an accomplished organist and adored classical music and opera, as well as all the talent reality shows for unknown musicians competing on tv. He loved to cook for his friends, and try ethnic dishes, especially from the Middle East. He shared his home with beloved cats that he took in during his years in Baltimore/DC and then later, in Illinois. It was a lucky kitty who got to live with Paul!

And this was true for those who got to know him as his closest friends, as well as his many casual acquaintances. He was generous, fun, and kind. He will be missed greatly by all of us, and he left our world all too soon.

Written by Tony Skaggs

Ginnie

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