John Englesby Obituary, Longtime Library Board Member Of DeForest Area Public Library Has Died

John Englesby Obituary, Death – The recent retirement of John Englesby, who served on the Library board for a significant amount of time and was an engaged member of our community, meant that we had to say goodbye to a dear friend, and we will miss his continuous presence at the Library. It has been decided that Jan Berg, the Director of the Library, will pen a column for the DeForest Times-Tribune in which she will share her thoughts about John. These are some excerpts from the article “On Thursday, January 5, at some time throughout the day, John Englesby, who had spent his whole life in this area, passed away. He was born and raised here. He was a member of the library board for a length of time that was considerable. Because his death will, in a sense, change the dynamic of the community, I believe it is essential to pay attention to the fact that he has passed away.

Although it is difficult to find the perfect adjectives to describe John Englesby, the terms “reliable” and “dependable” come to mind instantly. John Englesby is a person who can always be counted on.”John had spent his whole life in Morrisonville, and as a result, he maintained deep ties to the town’s many residents and businesses. He had earned a doctorate degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and was employed there in the academic field. He had a deep interest in the past of the region and did everything in his ability to collect and archive the relevant information. He had served on the library’s board continuously since 1982. When I first started working here, he was already serving on the library board when I was appointed to that position. He was the president of the library board for a significant number of years, including the years in which the library was being built, and he served in that capacity at that time. … John was a constant presence in the atmosphere of the library from the very beginning. It is challenging for me to come to terms with the idea that I will not see him walking through the library today, tomorrow, or at any other time in the foreseeable future.”