Sent literally tons of books to poor kids around world

A safari in Kenya turned out to have a lasting impact on Ruth A. Danielson of Libertyville.

Not of seeing the animals or the sights, but of the children and the little resources they had.

Upon her return home, Mrs. Danielson resolved to better their plight. She set out to gather together some books, so they might have libraries in their public schools.

"She was a very determined lady, who lived by her principles," says her neighbor, Gene Craig of Libertyville.

Now, friends and family members are cherishing her unique resolve. Mrs. Danielson, a 38-year resident of Libertyville passed away Nov. 1. She was 93.

To launch her collection, Mrs. Danielson turned first to Copeland Manor School in Libertyville, where she worked as a lunchroom and playground supervisor, before widening her net to include schools and libraries throughout southern Lake County.

Over the course of the next year, Mrs. Danielson collected 180,000 volumes -- including textbooks, dictionaries and encyclopedias --and then she used her own money to ship them off to Kenya.

Mrs. Danielson accompanied the shipment and was met by Kenya National Library Services representatives, who later worked with Peace Corps volunteers to distribute the books to local schools.

The ambitious project drew praise from government officials in Kenya -- who wound up reimbursing her more than $20,000 for the cost of the shipment -- as well as community leaders in Libertyville.

In 1986, members of the Libertyville, Mundelein and Vernon Hills Chamber of Commerce awarded her their Chamber Heart Award, for her "shining example of compassion and dedication."

A few years later, Mrs. Danielson undertook the project again, this time sending 1,200 pounds of books to mainland China.

Family members say they were not surprised by the magnitude of her efforts.

"She was a very unique individual, with a mind of her own," says her niece Wanda Ladoni of Monte Rio, Calif.

Mrs. Danielson was raised on a farm in Britt, Iowa, but in early adulthood, she left for bigger things, heading east to Chicago.

Once here, she held a variety of jobs but finally settled in working at a branch of the Chicago Public Library, as a clerk.

She met her second husband, Alfred Danielson, in Chicago -- her first husband, Lester Cummins, died shortly after they were married -- and one of the things they enjoyed together was cycling.

The couple rode long distances, especially enjoying riding out to rural Lake County, which was how they came to settle in Libertyville in 1969, after they retired.

Mrs. Danielson's niece suffered from polio as a child, and was sent to Warm Springs, Ga., to convalesce.

"My aunt and her husband bicycled down to see me," Ladoni says, "and back."

For vacations, the couple had been known to take cycling trips through England and Scotland, as well as on the Continent.

Mrs. Danielson lost her riding partner in 1978, but she continued to cycle, even to the College of Lake County in Grayslake, a 15-mile round trip, for enrichment classes, including art, Spanish, psychology, biology and woodcarving.

"She had a driver's license," her niece says, "but she never owned a car."

In her later years, she advanced her passion for cycling to village hall, where she regularly lobbied for sidewalks to be accessible to bicycles and the disabled.

Services for Mrs. Danielson have been held.