Remembering Dan Kissane

I'm sure all of us who knew Dan, even in passing, have stories to share. Dan was certainly someone who, once you met, you would never forget. As Alice Harrington mentioned in her very poignant address at Thursday's luncheon, I also remember meeting Dan at my very first SUNYLA Conference (at Adirondack Community College), and yes indeed, he was wearing one of those mesh football jerseys, cut half-way from the bottom (I think it was purple). I also thought, "this guy is a librarian????" Without a doubt, he changed my opinion of what a librarian "would/should" look like. But as a newcomer to SUNYLA, my friend and colleague, Heather Munger, and I felt very out of place at the conference . . . until we met Dan, of course. What was a casual meeting at one of Lake George's local watering holes (after a wonderful dinner and boatride on the Minne-ha-ha) between Heather, myself, Dan, and Mark Smith has become a long lasting bond. Heather is no longer in SUNY, and of course, sadly, we know that Dan is no longer with us. But the memories of that very first conference and the fact of being welcomed so warmly to SUNYLA by Dan Kissane have made a huge impression on my time as a librarian and my tenure within SUNYLA.

Through the years, I got to know Dan more, through conferences, discussions on the SUNYLA list, a professional visit to Oneonta (Jeff Liles and I presented a workshop to the librarians of SUNY Oneonta and Hartwick College), and strangely enough, a coincidental Louisiana connection. He used to date a former University of New Orleans librarian, who I have met a few times after working a short stint in New Orleans. Dan came to refer to me as "Kimmy" (a distinction I have allowed to only a few! :-) ) and I began calling him "Danny." I think he once signed an e-mail as "Danny" and it stuck. I remember hearing from Dan just a week or two before his fateful basketball game, and it is still hard for me to grasp that we will never be able to enjoy his company at our annual SUNYLA conferences.