Homewood Library mourns loss of ‘unsung hero’ Judy Mead

When Ashley Mead was little, her mother, Judy, took her to the Homewood Public Library all the time.

“One day she said, ‘We are here so much, I should maybe think about getting a job here,’” Ashley Mead said. “I didn’t know she was serious, and then the next thing I knew, she was working there.”

Now — 25 years later — Judy Mead’s legacy is bigger than mother or daughter could have dreamed since that day back in the kids’ book section.

“She always cultivated a huge love of books in me,” Ashley Mead said.

And she cultivated a huge love for a community that mourned her loss when she died suddenly April 17, at the age of 67. 

“Judy had a wonderful personality and a great sense of humor,” said Deborah Fout, library director. “She loved this library and enjoyed helping out wherever she was needed. Her absence at the Homewood Library is felt by all of our staff.”

Leslie West, adult services librarian, called her a “gentle soul” with an “ever-ready smile.”

“Judy was one of our unsung heroes,” West said. “While there are those of us out front with patrons and handling programming, Judy was in the background getting our book orders out. She and her staff processed materials quickly and efficiently.”

She was a hard worker, Ashley Mead said, but she knew how to love her life while working.

“She always believed that you shouldn’t have a job that you feel is a job. You want to go to something that you’re passionate about every day, so it doesn’t feel like work,” Ashley Mead said.

Judy Mead was so passionate about it, in fact, that by the time she died, she had accumulated a year’s worth of unused sick time, Fout said.

“She was well-liked and an always did an excellent job,” she said.

Ashley Scales, an employee in Judy Mead’s department, said she saw her supervisor live out that desire to be passionate about her work every day.

“She worked diligently to make sure that our department ran smoothly,” Scales said, noting that she organized the whole place so well that “we rarely ever had a problem finding anything we needed.”

But her breaks were just as memorable, Scales said. Judy Mead bird-watched from her office window. And she watched the live stream of an African safari for more lunch hours than Scales could count, she said.

“I will cherish her appreciation of animals. And I will always cherish the moments that she and I would laugh at the absurdity of why some reality stars were famous,” Scales said. “She was a great supervisor to work for, and I miss her very much.”

Judy Mead put her mark on a lot of things there at the library, including Christmas, said Harry Bonner, a part-time employee in Mead’s department.

“I always looked forward to when Judy would bring out the Christmas decorations for our department in the library,” Bonner said. “Every year she would say that she just wasn’t going to fool with it, but usually without us having to encourage her, the ‘Charlie Brown’ tree would appear on the work table.”

It “towered” a good two feet, he said, and its four ornaments “brought a sweet little bit of cheer.”

“We never really believed she would deprive herself or us of that little tree,” Bonner said. “We will make sure it comes out this year, and Judy will be greatly missed.”

Fout agreed that Judy Mead’s absence has left an emotional hole.

“I personally miss her every day,” she said.

When Judy Mead joined the library, she started as a part-time clerk in the children’s section where she and her daughter had spent so much time.

From there, she moved to a full-time career in the position of clerk typist/processor in the Technical Services Department.

“Judy saw many changes in processing techniques at the Homewood Library as the library went from using basic typewriters and a real card catalog to the automated system we currently use,” Fout said. “She embraced change and welcomed the automation of the library.”

She saw everything as an adventure, Ashley Mead said, and she loved meeting new people.

“She was always giving, always looking for something to do,” she said. “She loved getting out in the community.” 

Judy Mead loved the Birmingham Zoo, the Botanical Gardens and Birmingham’s art scene. She served on the beautification board for a while and the We Love Homewood committee, as well as the Mayfair Club.

And no matter where you found her, she was always with people, Ashley Mead said.

“She was fun, silly, hardworking and determined,” she said. “She liked to make people laugh, to put a smile on their faces. She loved everybody.”

Fout said the library is collecting money to create a memorial to Judy Mead in the courtyard, one of her favorite places at the library.