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Re: archival experiences




Roy Webb wrote:

> (snip)  I know we joke
> about being ambulance chasers in this business, but this was so
> personal and so intense!  I love what I do but experiences like this
> one really set you back.  Again I can only say: Whew!

Roy, I had this last week in a variation--the donation was actually done by
power of attorney and all the paperwork showed that she definitely had the
intention to donate them to us before she died.  At age 97 she took a sudden
turn for the worse, hence her lawyer's haste to finish the job (he had power
of attorney).  After being out of town for a couple weeks, I wrote and
re-wrote several drafts for the deed of gift keeping the temperamental fax
machine hot (he was three hours away), and in the end the transaction was
complete Friday evening at 5:30 (yes, sometimes you have to stay late to
finish the job!).

She died at 6:30 the next morning.

She was determined to keep her mother's papers with her as long as she could
and equally determined that after that they would go to UTC.  That's pretty
clear in the correspondence the lawyer turned over to me.

I never got to meet her.  Her mother's papers and journals are incredible.

I'd never heard from this woman once in the three years I've been here.  She
lived in the retirement complex only three minutes from my apartment.

There's more complications to this story, but suffice it to say, yes, when
the donation is close and dear, the experience bonds to your heart and
forever reminds you why you do the work you do.

I'm going home before I get really sappy!

Holly
in Chattanooga

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