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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

