OBITUARY
 

Dirk Graham Fraser died at home on December 29, 2022 of bile duct cancer. We'll be gathering in his memory on May 20, 2023. Dirk was born in Detroit (an early boomer) on May 1, 1949. When he was ten, the family moved to Texas (but Dirk always told people he was from Michigan). He got his undergraduate degree in anthropology from the University of Texas, then came to Bloomington to go to library school at the School of Library Sciences (now the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering) and stayed to become a well-loved reference librarian at the Monroe County Public Library in Bloomington until his retirement. He also sometimes drove the Bookmobile, and was often approached at the reference desk by adults who remembered him from his Bookmobile days. His distinctive curls were locally famous and they graced advertising materials from the library a number of times. He responded for the library when the New York Times was contacting libraries around the country to test homework help (he kindly informed the reporter that the reference desk was for adults and children to use to get information, but was not a homework helping site per se). In retirement he enjoyed building and messing about in boats and attended the Wooden Boat School more than once. His nearly annual solo trips to the Boundary Waters, where he went to paddle his own canoe (literally!), were semi-legendary, as were his long showers, earning him the nickname "The Shower God." His daughters Maya and Linnea were the delights of his life. He is survived by them; by his partner Leah; his sister Leslie; his sister Kiera and her husband Kermit; his sister Linda; his brother Larry and his wife Nancy; his nephew Cody and his wife Candi; his niece Robin and her husband Erik; his nephew Eric and his children; and Jack dog. Come share stories, memories, laughter, and tears with us in Dirk's honor at 317 South Jackson Street on May 20th between 1 and 6 pm. Posted online on May 07, 2023 Published in The Herald Times - Bloomington Indiana