Fond Farewell: Retired Assistant Librarian Doris Mann

Doris Mann, who worked as an assistant librarian at Chico State for 27 years, passed away on November 25. She was 90 years old.

Born April 28, 1933, Mann was hired to work at what was then the Chico State College Library in 1968 and remained there, managing book orders through the library’s expansion and name changes, until her retirement in 1995. She did much more than that, according to her colleagues. They remember her as generous and fun-loving.

“She entertained us,” former co-worker Sarah Blakeslee said. “She had a great sense of humor.”

Marion Compton was another contemporary of Mann’s at Chico State, but she knew her more directly thanks to her generosity. When Compton and her two children needed a place to stay after moving back to Chico in the early 1970s, Mann took her in.

“Doris is the greatest friend I’ve had,” Compton said. “I call her my sister-in-love. We sang together, cooked together, camped together, and traveled together.”

Mann also volunteered, cooking with Compton for the people at the Torres Community Shelter and serving on the board of the University Needy Children’s Committee.

“She was a classy lady,” Compton said. 

Mann is survived by her two daughters, Jeri Dean and Diane Flucard, eight grandchildren, and 12 great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her late husband Jim Estes.

A memorial service was held for her on January 13 at Newton-Bracewell Funeral Home. The University flag will be lowered in her memory on Wednesday, February 7.