Garden dedicated to longtime library trustee, Rotarian Richard Earne

Story and photos by Alice Gerard

Senior Contributing Writer

Richard “Dick” Earne was remembered for his dedication to community service as a member of the Grand Island Rotary Club, as well as his years as a Grand Island Memorial Library trustee.

On May 13, the library hosted the dedication of the Richard Earne Memorial Reading Garden, along with a ribbon-cutting.

The garden took three years to create, said Library Director Bridgette Heintz: “Phase one was installed in April 2024. It included seating, a noticeboard, and a little free library, which was made possible from an Earth Day grant received through the Air and Waste Management Association. Thank you, Jill Banaszak, who got that grant for us.

“Phase two, completed in August 2025, includes the hardscape, the garden bed expansion, and flat-top boulders for additional natural seating.

“We plan to keep track of usage and make future minor improvements, as needed.”

Earne was a library trustee from 1980 to 2022.

“During his 42-year tenure, he was involved in the construction of the current library building,” Heintz. “That was in 1989. Dick was also involved with the Association of Contract Library Trustees, also known as ACT. He served as president of ACT for a number of years.

“Thank you for coming out to celebrate Dick Earne and the garden. My time working with him was short – about four years. I have to say we collaborated well on all things library. The thing I remember most about Dick was his way of asking the questions that everyone else was afraid to ask, including myself. That’s because he wanted to get as much information as possible in order to make the right decision.

“The Reading Garden fulfills a goal that Dick had of extending the useful library space to include a comfortable outdoor seating area for our patrons to enjoy. Through fundraisers – which included two chicken barbecues, bake sales run by the Friends of the Grand Island Memorial Library in conjunction with the book sales, grant and aid funding (provided by Assemblyman Angelo Morinello’s office), and donations from our patrons – this space has become a reality.”

Robert Ratajczak, liaison to Assemblyman Angelo Morinello’s office, presents Grand Island Memorial Library Director Bridgette Heintz a citation honoring Richard Earne.

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Earne was also remembered for his dedication to the Grand Island Rotary Club.

Rotarian Sherry Miller said, “Richard ‘Dick Earne devoted 44 years to Rotary after joining our club in December of 1978. A three-time club president and district governor, Dick represented Western New York and nearby Canada with humility, warmth, and deep commitment to service above self. At his core, Dick believed in helping others.

“He was passionate about Rotary’s Early Act program, encouraging young students to learn responsibility and the value of community service. His dedication to the Rotary Foundation earned him recognition as a nine-time Paul Harris Fellow. Dick never waited to be asked when something needed to be done. Whether cleaning along Beaver Island Parkway, delivering Meals on Wheels, ringing the bell on Christmas, supporting Salvation Army programs, assisting Habitat for Humanity, welcoming an Afghan refugee family, or helping me with exchange students in the Open World program, he simply showed up again and again with generosity and compassion.

“Alongside his devotion to temple and family, service to others became the defining work of his life.”

Earne’s son, Rabbi Matthew Earne, also talked about his father’s commitment to service to others, as well as the meaning of memory to him.

“You remembered my dad,” he said. “You remembered the time and energy he gave to Rotary. You remembered his devotion to this library, its staff and its sacred purpose. You remembered his commitment to service above self.”

Memory, Earne said, “calls us to remember the gift found within these (library) walls: diverse ideas, open discussion, knowledge and truth. The library embodies a promise at the heart of our nation. It calls us to appreciate the privilege and responsibility of citizenship. It reminds us that democracy is not only defended on the battlefields but sustained in places like this, where people gather to learn, to think, to question, and to remember.

“Memory is not just a tool for recognition. It’s also a source from which we find purpose.

“We come here, looking to learn, but we leave with memories of children’s story time, the kind librarian who assists us, or a great conversation about a book with a new friend we met on a bench at the Richard Earne Reading Garden.”

In addition to the speakers, a citation, signed by Morinello to honor Earne, was presented by Robert Ratajczak, Morinello’s liaison.

Miller and Heintz expressed gratitude for the individuals and groups who made the Reading Garden a reality.

“We also express heartfelt thanks to our partners: the Grand Island Memorial Library board of trustees, the Cinderella Island Garden Club, the Town of Grand Island and, especially, master gardener Peggy Koppmann,” Miller said.

Heintz offered “special thanks” to the Grand Island Rotary Club, the Cinderella Isle Garden Club, the Town of Grand Island, the Friends of the Grand Island Memorial Library, Morinello, the Reading Garden committee, the Grand Island Memorial board of trustees, and the Grand Island community.

“Thank you for remembering my dad,” Matthew Earne said. “Thank you for preserving not just his memory, but the memory of this Island and this country. May this new garden be a place where many more memories are made.”