FEBRUARY 8 • 2024 | 47
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Kohlenberg” and continues:
“Devoted member of the
library staff 1980-2020, Sally
faithfully served generations
of Huntington Woods
Library patrons by sharing
her love of and passion for
books. Her memory will
always be a part of the fabric
of the Huntington Woods
Library.”
Shelly Gach Droz,
former Huntington Woods
library director and now
a member of the Friends
group, developed a strong
friendship with Sally. Droz
has been the only other
employee to have a work
of art placed in her honor.
The Droz piece showcases a
woman reading to children.
“Sally was totally devoted
to this library,” Droz said. “I
worked there 27 years, and
Sally started a little before
me. She read and loved
literature and books and did
a great job of working in
that library. I used to say if
anything happened to this
library, Sally would be there
before me. She
was
very dependable, devoted
and skilled. She knew her
job, and she knew how to
do it well.”
The artistry of Kelman
was the choice of Droz,
son Larry Kohlenberg, a
certified public accountant,
and current head librarian
Deb Hemmye, who had not
worked with Sally but heard
about the woman from
patrons.
“I designed a piece that
included 10 rondelles of
various sizes,” Kelman said.
“They appear as though they
had spilled from a stained-
glass window. Sally loved
purple, and the wall piece
had to be purple. I cut out
small pieces of glass and
fused them together in my
kiln. I made my own purples
by mixing various purple
frits (crushed glass) with
blue and white frits.”
Hemmye, whose
knowledge of The Purple
Lady was through others,
said, “I was blown away by
how much time and effort
and science goes into this
glass. Janet made
countless trips
out here.”
Larry
Kohlenberg’s
mom instilled a
love for reading in him,
his North Carolinian-based
sister Julie Kohlenberg-
Tache, a real estate
specialist, and Sally’s three
grandchildren. Larry made
many trips to the library,
donating boxes of books
Sally had collected on her
own.
“My mom was a daily
fixture as a library patron
before she started working
there,” Larry said. “It was
almost from the time we
moved into Huntington
Woods in 1967. She was a
voracious reader.
“One day, they said to her
they had a shortage in staff-
ing and asked if she could
help them. She was only too
happy to do that. Apart from
home, it was her favorite
place on earth. In 1980, my
sister was a senior in high
school, and I was in college.
The timing was perfect, and
she became a staff person.”
Larry said that the fam-
ily always encouraged the
library work because it
represented the reading she
loved to do.
“It was never about
money,” Larry said. “She
had an
English back-
ground with a degree from
Wayne State University and
knew that library inside and
out.”
Sally, who was active in
Temple Beth El, succumbed
to cancer after waging a
long fight. Married to the
late Martin Kohlenberg for
53 years, she was a mem-
ber of the Cancer Thrivers
Network for Jewish Women.
Sally was awarded
as Huntington Woods
Employee of the Year in
2006, and Larry remembers
Independence Day parades
going by the library as float
riders waved to his mom and
called out to her. He notes
that her headstone has the
phrase The Purple Lady.
The tribute artwork will be
dedicated when the weather
warms up and Sally’s daugh-
ter visits Michigan. In the
meantime, a message went
out to library patrons:
“We are honored to have
had such a dedicated library
employee for 40 years and
now equally honored to have
this beautiful artwork to
commemorate Sally and her
passion for the library.”
Sally on vacation with
Marty in 1998. Even
on vacation, Sally
always checked out
the local libraries.
Sally Kohlenberg at the Huntington
Woods Library desk with
grandchildren Jared and Liza
Kohlenberg in 1999