ERLANGER — For many years, avid reader Mary King Cundiff was on a first-name basis with the staff at her local public library in Erlanger.

        At least once a week, the gray-haired, former English teacher stopped by the library's front desk to check out a favorite mystery or peruse the latest fiction.

Cundiff

        “We all knew her when she came in,” said Martha McKinley, a 21-year clerk at the Erlanger branch of the Kenton County Public Library System. “We try to be nice to everybody, but she was very easy to be nice to.”

        To show her gratitude, the retired Boone County Schools guidance counselor left the bulk of her estate to the Kenton County Public Library System when she died last April at age 69.

        “When her lawyer called last summer, he had indicated that (Mrs. Cundiff's bequest) would maybe be in the five figures,” said Wayne Onkst, director of the Kenton County Public Library System. “Even with a gift of that size, we were very pleased and excited. But until a couple of months ago, we had no idea it was in the six figures. It certainly was a very pleasant surprise.”

        Mrs. Cundiff's gift of $250,000 is 10 times larger than the library system's previous largest bequest, by a 20-year volunteer, said spokeswoman Robin Klaene.

HOW TO DONATE

For a limited time, engraved memorial bricks and granite pavers can be purchased for the Reading Garden at the Kenton County Public Library System's new Erlanger branch.     Bricks, which will be located around the Reading Garden's fountain, are $25 each and offer three lines of text with 13 characters per line. Patrons also can purchase 120 eight-inch square Korean Sage granite pavers for $150 each. They allow for six lines of text, 13 characters per line.     All proceeds from the sale of the memorial bricks and pavers will go to construction costs of the new Erlanger branch library. Order forms are available at all library branches.     For information about leaving a bequest or purchasing books in memory of a loved one, contact Wayne Onkst, director of the Kenton County Public Library System, (859) 491-7610.

        The only stipulation Mrs. Cundiff made was that her gift be used to buy books for the new $7 million Erlanger branch library now under construction. Library officials say the money will purchase about 20,000 books.

        “This comes at a perfect time,” Ms. Klaene said. “They're going to need this in Erlanger since they're doubling their space. It's a great gift to the community.”

        The 34,294-square-foot Erlanger branch is under construction at 401 Kenton Lands Road, less than a mile from the library's current location on Dixie Highway. It's scheduled to open in mid-October.

        Sally Franzen of Villa Hills, who served as co-executor of Mrs. Cundiff's estate, said that her longtime friend attended an investment class at her urging after the two were widowed.

        “When it came to investments, she learned her lesson well,” Ms. Franzen said. It was those investments, along with her retirement fund and money she inherited from her late husband, Steve, that funded her bequest.

        “As she got older, she had trouble getting around,” Ms. Franzen said. “But the employees at the Erlanger library would reserve books for her, and they were always so nice to her. She liked the people there so much.”

        Both Ms. Franzen and Norman Yonce of Union, the other co-executor of the estate, said they couldn't recall a time when their friend, Mary, wasn't reading a book.

        “It was because of the staff at the Erlanger branch that Mary left her bequest,” Mr. Yonce said. “They were always so nice to her that she wanted to do something for the library.”

        Mrs. Cundiff's gift will serve generations to come, Mr. Onkst said.

        “This is just like the icing on the cake,” he said. “We know that now we'll have a collection that will be just as spectacular as our building.”
       

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