Everyone who worked with Moraine Valley librarian Joe Mullarkey was drawn to his kindness, helpfulness and sense of humor. His sudden death on Aug. 1 stunned the Moraine Valley community.
“I found out about it over the summer, and gosh, it came as a big shock,” said communications professor Amani Wazwaz. “Whenever I went to the library, he was there smiling, welcoming. He had this aura of kindness, like an open-hearted person.”
Mullarkey’s passing also was shocking for his immediate coworkers at the Moraine Valley library, including Troy Swanson, the library’s department chair. “I was on vacation, actually, so I wasn’t here,” Swanson said. “My boss, the dean of the library, Terra Jacobson, called me to let me know.”
Swanson’s reaction was fueled, in part, by how long he had known Joe Mullarkey. They actually attended the same graduate program in college and have been close friends since then.
But Swanson wasn’t Mullarkey’s only friend at Moraine Valley. For communications professor Eric DeVillez, it was friendship at first sight.
In an interview for the employee newsletter, Valley View, DeVillez recalled the first time he met Mullarkey: “He poked fun at my broken shoelaces within the first 15 minutes; they were frayed and retied up to get me through the day, undoubtedly shoddy. ‘Hey man, would you just look at those new shoes, you know?’ He then dropped an obscure movie reference, laughed that laugh of his, and we’ve been friends ever since.”
Mullarkey’s unique personality allowed him to be friends with anyone who got to know him, as Shelita Shaw, assistant professor of communications, can attest.
“The first time we met, he was one of the presenters for my new faculty orientation,” Shaw said to Valley View. “When I walked in, he said, ‘Well, you look sharp.’ I said, ‘You’re going to be my friend.’ And from that moment on, we were friends.”
Throughout his time at Moraine Valley, Mullarkey took the time to help everyone who crossed his path, including coworkers and students. Mullarkey would always go the extra mile and even walk students to advising, the testing center, and even the tutoring center. He would never hesitate to help a student struggling with computers.
At least one student can recall such an encounter: Asmaa Abdulhameed, a 30-year-old seeking a certificate in Moraine Valley’s health information technology program. “I remember one day I needed his help in reading a digital book using a program called Hoopla Digital, and I didn’t know how to use it, and then he came and showed me how to use it,” Abdulhameed said.
Mullarkey also lent a hand in more personal ways, like giving his colleagues meals or other gifts. “If we were facing a hard time, he would send a card or flowers,” Shaw said. “He could change the trajectory of our day. He served our spirit.”
Jayne Killackey, Learning Resource Center Secretary II, has a specific memory tied to Joe Mullarkey’s flowers.
“My oldest brother passed away in the fall of 2017, and his memorial service was held out of state,” Killackey said. “Joe wasn’t able to attend the service, so on the day before it, he appeared at my desk with five bouquets of flowers saying, ‘One for each of you (my other siblings and me), and you get to pick yours first.” That is a special memory that will last a lifetime.”
DeVillez recalled a time when Mullarkey literally went the extra mile for him.
“Joe happened to be driving by, and saw me on the side of the road,” DeVillez said. “He stopped by, and he picked me up, drove me home without questioning. Just drove me to work the next couple of days. Which doesn’t sound like much, but it was a 45-minute to an hour trip, and it wasn’t even a question.”
Wazwaz said he was always there for when she needed him.
“There were many times, especially before the pandemic, when I gave presentations at the library,” Wazwaz said. “And Joe was always there, giving his amazing smile, showing his support for me. It was his kind demeanor.”
Mullarkey participated in the Moraine Reads series Wazwaz created. In fact, he recorded 14 videos in all, driven both by his love of literature in general and his desire to teach people more about specific books that impacted him deeply.
Storytelling was something Mullarkey fully appreciated.
“He had a really good sense of humor, he was really funny,” said John O’Reilly, Library Assistant III. “He was an Irishman like me, and he had what we like to call the gift of gab. So he always had a good story to tell, a funny joke at hand, all of the time.”
Mullarkey’s humor helped him bridge the gap between students and staff and make library information relatable.
“Each time I brought my classes in to work with him, he would open our time together with a simple, yet funny, truth: ‘When I first met your teacher, I had dark hair, and he actually had hair,’” said DeVillez told Valley View. “Getting your students to laugh during a library presentation, rooted in MLA documentations and research methods, is no small feat. But wow, he sure could pull it off.”
Mullarkey was also gifted with amazing recall skills, which he also used to his colleagues’ benefit.
“Joe’s memory of our conversations was phenomenal,” Killackey said. “I remember telling him once that I needed to watch less television and experience more culture in my life. Any guesses who introduced me, a few months later, to my first opera?”
Joe Mullarkey’s love and compassion towards Moraine Valley’s students is the main reason why the college has set up a memorial scholarship in his name. Donations are encouraged to get it functioning for the next 18 months.
But this scholarship isn’t the only way Mullarkey’s legacy lives on at Moraine. In fact, the very library materials are a testament to his hard work, according to Jacobsen. His work included purchasing various types of materials to ensure the library’s collection was up to date and meeting students’ needs.
Mullarkey’s kindness, helpfulness and humor will be remembered by those he interacted with throughout his career. His legacy of being a friend, coworker, and librarian to the Moraine Valley community will always live on.
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