Beach community gathers at library to celebrate life of Dr. Hommerding
“Our lives are not defined by the way we die,” said the Rev. Charles May of St. Peter Lutheran Church.
He spoke to a crowd of roughly 200 people who congregated in the garage of the library to remember the life of Dr. Leroy Hommerding on Saturday.
Sunlight and the strong scent of lilies washed over the somber room as speakers shared their memories of Hommerding.
His sister, Jan, spoke of his childhood.
He was the oldest of seven children, and lived for a visit from the bookmobile every three weeks.
“This library is a dream for a boy who grew up with a bookmobile,” she said.
Russ Carter, who works at the library, recounted Hommerding’s fight to build it, and “heart of pure steel” in the face of attacks from citizens who were displeased about new taxes.
“This library is paying the taxpayers back,” Carter said, calling it the biggest monument anyone on Fort Myers Beach has ever had.
Cletus Poser, interim library director, wrote a note to the crowd about Hommerding’s last moments, as recounted to him by the nurse who attended to him on the morning of his death.
“She said, I sensed a strong sense of peace…He got up and walked and sat on the bench. He did not say anything,” Reverend Charles May read from Poser’s note.
“I take that to mean he was spiritually ready, and did not feel any pain or suffering,” Poser wrote.
“This beautiful library is now the legacy he left for us so that we may continue to enrich our lives,” Mayor Tracey Gore said.
“We are in awe of you,” Hommerding’s sister Jan told the crowd gathered before her.
“I had no idea until I visited here… how important this library is to this community.”