Librarian Sue Harris passes away

It is with great sadness, that we share the news of the sad passing of our beloved Librarian Sue Harris on 12 May 2020.

Mrs Ness-Gifford writes:

"It is with great sadness, that I share the news of the sad passing of our beloved Librarian Sue Harris last night.  As you will know, Sue had been diagnosed with a brain tumour last summer and her courage and directness in facing her diagnosis and treatment had been truly inspiring.  Only the week before last Sue was discussing her return to work and joking with me about Library rules I found from the 1930’s.

Sue's passion for teaching children about books and her love of literature cemented our love for Sue, and as a School we mourn the loss of an unforgettable member of our Pipers family.  Our thoughts and prayers ​go out to her family, who supported her throughout her illness and we hope in time they will find comfort in the love that the Pipers community had for their wife and Mum.  Sue never referred to her illness as a battle, but the courage and humour that she showed over the challenging last months of her life have been truly remarkable and this is how we will remember her.

Of course, Sue would definitely want us to remember her in the Library, vibrantly directing and developing our community’s love of reading or brilliantly managing our first ever Literary Festival, but we will also remember her sense of fun, her formidable knowledge of literature and her ability to communicate both to all she met.

We are inviting families; students, parents and staff to email any messages of condolence to the family to our Director of Admissions and Marketing - Guy Ranford [email protected] who will collate these messages and share with the family and the community in due course.  The family have asked for no flowers, but for donations to Rennie Grove (a charity providing specialist care and support for adults and children with a life-limiting illness in Buckinghamshire and West Hertfordshire) https://www.renniegrove.org/donate instead, I am sure under Sue’s instructions.

But I would also like to create a more lasting memorial to Sue in the Library and wonder whether I could ask all parents, students and staff who knew her, or who used the Library to donate, drop in or send in to me a copy of their favourite book (it does not have to be new) so that we can create a shelf or shelves in the Library which will bear testament to Sue’s love of books and the importance of them in our lives.  If everyone who did this could write in the front of the book why they have chosen that particular book, I think Sue would be very proud that you remembered her by looking through your book shelves to find something special to pass on.  I never quite got round to discussing this idea with Sue - I thought perhaps that there would be time ahead for farewell conversations, but I suspect she would have agreed wholeheartedly and would have immediately directed me to exactly which shelves in the Library these should be!  Sue’s legacy to us will be so much more than these books but it will be a start and a way for us to do something positive at home on this saddest of days and I know she would approve."

Below: Sue with author Onjali Q. Raúf at this year's Literary Festival