Dorothy Vickers-Shelley, the longtime librarian at Yankee Ridge Elementary in Urbana, passed away last Friday afternoon. She was 74. Mrs. Vickers-Shelley influenced many young minds during her tenure. Mrs. Vickers-Shelley promoted progressive, free thought to very young children, and never let her faith in children waver over her many years at the school. I recently looked up the adage she recited with her students, sure that she borrowed from a notable poet, only to find that the composition is apparently her own. I’ll leave it here for those who did not have the pleasure. May she rest in peace.
“Life is short — therefore, I shall be a crusader in the fight against ignorance and fear, beginning with myself.”
–Dorothy Vickers-Shelley
Services will be held tomorrow, Thursday July 30 at Salem Baptist Church from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.