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Surprise gift funds mother and child reading room for Howard County Public Library

Posted 6/15/22

The Fayette Howard County Public Library in Fayette has an all new mother’s reading room, compliments of a surprise gift. In January the library received notice from an attorney in Kansas City …

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Surprise gift funds mother and child reading room for Howard County Public Library

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The Fayette Howard County Public Library in Fayette has an all new mother’s reading room, compliments of a surprise gift. In January the library received notice from an attorney in Kansas City that $10,000 was left by the estate of Dessa Jane Burrell for the construction of a private room in which a mother could read to her child.

The Anna Lee Downey Burrell Reading Room For Mother and Child is now open and available for use during the library’s regular hours. The room, located in the basement of the library, has been renovated for this purpose and contains comfortable chairs, a bookshelf, and a  changing table. Burrell also left the library her personal collection of 300 books.

Burrell had raised her children in the Howard County area and wanted to celebrate the library with the community. However, not much else is known about her or her time in Howard County. The library asked for more information and requested a copy of her obituary from the estate’s attorney, but so far, have received nothing.

“We even had the genealogy department try and look her up,” said librarian Chris Kloeppel.

A relative reached out and said that Burrell’s son was born in Fayette. It is believed that Anna Lee Downey Burrell, after whom the room was named, was the mother of Dessa Jane Burrell.

United States Census records show that Burrell was probably born in 1933, and as a child lived in Columbia. Results from online records searches indicate that she lived in Independence.

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