By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
Get our mobile app
ROCKFORD — In 1965, Jean Lythgoe recalls a personnel clerk at the Rockford Public Library explaining to her the municipal retirement system.
If she continued to work at the library for eight years, she’d be vested to receive an Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund pension.
“I smiled and I politely thanked her,” Lythgoe said. “But my brain thought, ‘how could anyone possibly work at one place for eight years?”
More news: 133 years after his death, a Black Civil War soldier receives his gravestone in Rockford
Nearly six decades later, Lythgoe is more than eligible to retire. But she doesn’t want to, at least not yet.
The 77-year-old librarian assistant has a passion for local history and research that keeps her doing the work she started years ago. She’s seen the evolution of the library from typewriters and paper card catalogs to computers and downloads for Kindles. To her colleagues, her love of history has made her a walking reference guide with quick recall and a fact or two about seemingly everything in Rockford.
“Her memory is just gigantic,” said Lynn Stainbrook, the library’s executive director. “If you want to know something about Rockford, she’s definitely the person to go to.”
On Tuesday, Lythgoe was honored by state Rep. Dave Vella with a proclamation in recognition of National Library Workers Day. The state House certificate states that Lythgoe is a leader in education who gives back to Rockford through her love of history and reading.
“It is a true pleasure to be able to honor Jean not just as an outstanding community member, but as an exceptional leader during this important day,” Vella said. He presented her the certificate at the Hart Interim Library in downtown.
Lythgoe started with the library on June 7, 1965. Her first job was working in technical processes in the basement of the former main branch, which has since been demolished to make way for the future new library on the same plot of land. Lythgoe’s job was duplicating the catalog for the different floors of the library. Someone had to type the headings across each of the cards, and that someone was a then 18-year-old Lythgoe.
“So I typed cards seven hours a day, and the eighth hour I got to arrange them in alphabetical order. Wow,” she said with an upbeat sense of sarcasm.
More news: Rockford’s first daiquiri bar will open later this month. Here’s what to expect
Lythgoe has spent the last 18 years working in the library’s Local History & Genealogy Room. She’s worked with several local preservationists and historical societies to assist with their research, including the recent effort by the Ethnic Heritage Museum and Cedar Bluff Cemetery to provide a headstone for the grave of Civil War soldier Robert Parker.
“She continues to love Rockford and love the history of Rockford,” Stainbrook said. “She appreciates it all and loves sharing that, and I think that’s the impressive part for me is how much she keeps it all in her head and how much she loves to share it with everybody.”
Lythgoe lives in the city with her husband of 48 years, Ken. They have one daughter, Mary.
Lythgoe also mentors young librarians and passes on her research skills, Stainbrook said.
She’s read countless books over the years, and considers herself a lifelong learner. As for her much-praised ability to recall history, she just said she’s lucky that God blessed her with a good memory.
“Somebody once asked me, ‘what part of history do you specialize in?'” Lythgoe said. “I’m not a specialist, I’m a generalist, because I never know what question I’m going to get next.”
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas