In January the Friends of the Key West Library lost two of their own — volunteer Shirlee Ezmirly and corporate sponsor Michael Halpern.

A wonderful person and loyal volunteer, Shirlee Ezmirly helped with the book sales and with shelving library books. When she was no longer able to do that work, she attended the book sales as an avid customer, assisted by her daughter and using a rollator. At their August meeting, the Key West City Commission commended 97-year-old Shirlee for her contributions to the community — a well-deserved honor. We will miss her!

Michael Halpern, Key West lawyer and owner of The Mansion on the Sea (a.k.a. Southernmost House), was known throughout the island for his big-hearted generosity. He was the first to step up when we began looking for corporate sponsors and gave every year without fail, attending our gala events with visible enthusiasm. In his final weeks, we did not know he was ill. We only knew that he put everything on hold to get his contribution in the mail to us as quickly as possible. Rest in peace, Michael.