Memorial For Jo Duffy
Please join the Board of the June Mazer Lesbian Archives as we celebrate Jo Duffy's contributions to the Lesbian Community as our longest and oldest volunteer. Although Jo was camera shy we have found a video that shows her at her best!
Date: July,20 2008
Time: 2PM
Place 626 North Robertson (the down stairs all access space)
We will begin with the video, followed by stories from our collective memory, a special dedication to Jo and light refreshments. It's amazing how one self-effacing woman has done so much to preserve our history. Please join us!
JO DUFFY 1926-2008
“I’m home”
So said Jo Duffy when she first entered the doors of the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives.
That was 1991
Initially, Jo worked with the periodicals, but soon became the “Queen” of the subject files at the Mazer Archives. She knew the subject and periodical files so well that researchers from all over the world were able to find information necessary for their research and often this data could be found nowhere else. Additionally, Jo was our primary contact with the City of West Hollywood.
Jo took the bus over the hill from the San Fernando Valley and was regularly at the Mazer Archives Tuesdays and Thursdays to meet the public and process materials. No one could have been more dedicated. She kept the Mazer alive.
A Story About Jo
In the past, downstairs from the Mazer, was an alternative school for LGBT teens. Those young people would periodically have a “field trip” upstairs to the Mazer Archives where Jo would be their teacher and mentor. Over time, the students and Jo formed a relationship. Each Tuesday or Thursday as Jo got on the bus for her ride home, the students, with their tattoos and typical teen dress, would rush over to her and say, “Hi Jo!” and give her hugs. They loved and respected her, as we all did. She altered lives.
Jo truly believed in the importance of saving our Lesbian history and committed herself to that end. She had a presence and force not to be replicated. Those who worked with her remember her passion, sense of humor and her LAUGH.
Jo! You are in our hearts and are missed by all of us here at the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives. The Archives have survived because of YOU, your warmth, your knowledge and your love of who we are in this world.
