Community honors lifetime of dedication to Mount Prospect Library
A page is turned, and a new story begins. As it unfolds, several people gathered outside the morning of Friday, Aug. 30, to share memories and dedicate the new Mount Prospect Public Library’s Laura L. Luteri Memorial Garden to honor the longtime Friends of the Library volunteer and board member. They gathered at the garden on the northeast corner of the Mount Prospect Public Library at Emerson and Central. Luteri, 77, passed away from illness last Feb. 5.
As memories were shared by attendees, Friends of the Library President Pat Klawitter welcomed about 40 of Luteri’s friends and co-volunteers while library Executive Director Su Renyders filmed the dedication on zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81216911357, meeting ID: 812 1691 1357) in the flower-filled memorial garden. A new Luteri plaque featuring a playful cat was unveiled.
“Laura was dedicated to the Mount Prospect community and the library,” Klawitter said. “She was a friend and began volunteering at the library in 1980, in many roles including on the library board where she served for 20 years and then many years as head of the Friends of the Library volunteers. She loved flowers and was always coming up with great ideas for the library and being a friend to so many.”
“She was very warm and lots of fun,” many said, including friends at the event Dianne Langley, Sue Coleman and Nancy Corry. “She will be greatly missed,” they said.
Luteri lived in Mount Prospect for many years with her husband Dr. George Luteri, who passed away a few years ago, and her daughter Donna.
Luteri received a Ph.D. in math from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology before moving to Mount Prospect.
As time went by while Luteri served the library she, staff and volunteers saw Mount Prospect Public Library internet access and other services increase greatly for residents; the start of reader services as a separate department; the addition of major public works of art for the library; and the formation of the Mount Prospect Public Library Foundation (MPPL). While library board President Luteri saw a successful building referendum to enlarge the library building to 101,000 square feet pass, which resulted in the library we have today.
In 1990, Luteri received the Mount Prospect Public Library’s Founders’ Award for her “leadership, dedication, and efforts of the group of women, who in 1943, seeing the need for a community library worked to establish the Mount Prospect Public Library.”
An active member of the Friends of the Library since 1985, she collaborated with other volunteers weekly behind the scenes preparing, pricing and sorting books for the library’s successful quarterly book sales-where all funds raised go to the library for programs. Luteri began the Friends of the Library book discussion group in 1990 and continued it for more than 35 years.
Many in attendance at the dedication said if it was not for Luteri they would not have known to volunteer.
“She had a great sense of humor and not only loved books, her fellow volunteers, but the library and community. We really miss her,” one attendee said.
“She would cherish this as she did the library,” Luteri’ s daughter Donna, said.
Donna then placed the skunk sculptures made by her father next to her mother’s plaque in the library memorial garden.