Memorials

Ruth Tonkiss Cameron (1950-2023)

Ruth Tonkiss Cameron, the Burke Library’s Archivist for nearly 20 years until her retirement in 2016, passed away on December 2, 2023, after a long illness. Ruth’s passion for the Burke’s archives was formidable, and her expertise was an enormous benefit to researchers and colleagues alike. Ruth was deeply committed to helping scholars and students from near and far. Her extensive knowledge of the contexts of the collections—historical, cultural, theological—and of the collections themselves, enabled her to provide insightful support to countless archival researchers over the years. Those who worked with her recall her profound dedication to preserving the sources and stories in the archives and sharing them with others.

Among her many accomplishments at the Burke was developing and expanding the renowned Archives of Women in Theological Scholarship collections, as well as the archives and records of Union Theological Seminary. She also worked to preserve, process, and expand the Burke’s celebrated Missionary Research Library archives. Her accomplishments at the Burke have left a rich and enduring legacy for present and future generations of scholarship and learning.

Kathryn (Kathie) Luther Henderson (1923-2022)

Professor Emerita Kathryn (Kathie) Luther Henderson of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign passed away on August 18, 2022.

Kathie earned all her college degrees at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign including an MS in library science in 1951. A founding member and first national secretary of Beta Phi Mu, the international honor society for library and information studies, she held positions in the University of Illinois Library, first as a clerical assistant from 1944-1946 and then as a serial cataloger from 1950-1953.

In 1953, she moved to Chicago, where she held positions as circulation librarian (1953-1956) and head cataloger (1956-1965) at McCormick Theological Seminary.

In 1965, Kathie was asked to join the faculty of the Graduate School of Library Science (now the School of Information Sciences) and returned to Urbana, teaching Cataloging and Classification, Technical Services Functions, and Preserving Information Resources. She developed computer-assisted instruction lessons for cataloging using PLATO as early as 1971. Regularly receiving outstanding ratings from students on course evaluations, in 1991 she was recognized at the campus level for her significant contributions as a teacher with the Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching.

In 1993, she was recognized at the 1993 American Library Association conference as the winner of the 1993 Beta Phi Mu Award citing her “distinguished record of teaching and service that has defined an uncommon level of excellence and has challenged and inspired a generation of librarians and library educators.”

Kathie was a longstanding member of multiple professional associations, including the American Library Association and the American Theological Library Association, now Atla. She served on and chaired numerous committees related to technical services, cataloging, and classification.

While Kathryn Luther Henderson has made numerous research and service contributions, her most valuable legacy is the hundreds of students whom she taught. Students were inspired by her example to be enthusiastic about librarianship and to strive for excellence in their work just as she sought excellence in teaching.

Upon graduation, she married Harold Scott, a recent graduate of Pittsburgh-Xenia Theological Seminary and Sterling College alumnus, moving with him to his first congregation in Richmond, Kansas, where she was able to work as a piano teacher and focused on the job of raising a family of three sons. The family subsequently moved to Des Moines, Iowa, and Santa Ana, California, as Harold was called to new congregations, and finally to Pittsburgh in 1958, where he joined the faculty of Pittsburgh-Xenia Seminary (now Pittsburgh Theological Seminary). In the late 1960s, she earned a degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh. She then joined the staff of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary library, where she was supervisor of cataloging for many years, and briefly served as the library’s interim director.

After her retirement, she worked on a voluntary basis as the library’s archivist. One of her most important accomplishments there was the organization and documentation of the records of the United Presbyterian Church of North America, a branch of the Presbyterian family dating back to the 17th century that had created Pittsburgh-Xenia seminary and merged into the much larger Presbyterian Church. She was esteemed as a deeply believing Christian who was also accepting of the variety of human paths in this world. She faithfully served in the spiritual and community life of the churches where Harold was pastor. Her kind and gentle disposition earned her the love of all who knew her.

Clifford Wunderlich (1950-2024)

Clifford Scott Wunderlich passed away on May 18, 2024. He was 74 years old.

Born in Chicago on February 5, 1950, Cliff was a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Yale Divinity School. He came to Harvard in 1976 as a doctoral student in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and worked as a student assistant at the then Andover-Harvard Theological Library at the Harvard Divinity School.

He became a regular member of the library staff in 1985, after working for a few years at the Episcopal Divinity School, in Cambridge. During his 32-year tenure at HDS, Cliff served first as a cataloger and then as a public services librarian, eventually becoming head of research services and curator of digital collections. He retired in 2017.

Cliff was a steadfast proponent of publicizing the unique collections the library had, from collaborating with Emory and Princeton to digitize a collection of Thanksgiving Day Sermons, to featuring historical images of UU churches and people on the library’s website, to putting on numerous library exhibits featuring resources from special collections.

Cliff is survived by his husband David Shuckra; his sisters Cande, Christel, and Claudia; several nieces and nephews; and grand nephews and nieces.