In Memoriam
By Ann Case, Tulane University Archivist
TUSC regretfully acknowledges the passing of two Special Collections pioneers, former Director of Special Collections, Dr. Wilbur “Bill” Eugene Meneray (February 22, 2025) and former Rare Book librarian Sylvia Verdun Metzinger (May 26, 2025).
Bill Meneray began working in Special Collections in 1972 as a Manuscripts Cataloger (1972-74). He rose through the ranks as Manuscripts Librarian (1974-1981), taking over as Head of Special Collections in 1981, and eventually retiring in 2009 as Assistant University Librarian for Special Collections. Bill earned his B.A. (1964) and M.A. (1969) in History from the University of Alabama, and his Ph.D. in Latin American History from University of North Carolina. (1975).
While at Tulane, he taught evening courses on Colonial Louisiana History, U.S. History since 1865, Modern Urban America, and Caribbean Revolutions, earning the University College (SoPA) Award for Teaching Excellence in 1994-95. Bill was very active in the local and regional history community throughout his career: he was president of the Louisiana Historical Association, Louisiana Archives and Manuscripts Association, Louisiana Historical and Genealogical Society, and the New Orleans Civil War Round Table. He also served on the Boards of the Louisiana Landmarks Commission, the New Orleans Civil War Round Table, the Memorial Hall Foundation, The Louisiana Historical Association, the U.S. Center for the Civil War, The Louisiana State Museum Board, The Louisiana Archives and Manuscripts Association, the Beauregard-Keyes House, and the Society of Southwest Archivists. In addition to publishing numerous articles and editing 12 volumes of the Favrot Family Papers, he was a regular contributor to local, regional, and national conferences.
For many years, he stewarded Tulane’s Friends of the Library organization and ran its popular annual book sale. Researchers in particular fondly remember Bill’s almost photograph memory of our archival resources. Bill bravely chose to stay in New Orleans through Hurricane Katrina to watch over the department’s collections and was instrumental in helping lead the library’s recovery.
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A seventh-generation Louisianian, Sylvia Metzinger grew up in Old Metairie, attending St. Mary’s Dominican High School and the University of New Orleans (B.A.). She briefly left town to earn a Master of Library Science degree from the University of Texas at Austin’s Graduate School of Library Science, then returned to join the staff of the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library in 1975 as a member of the Cataloging Department. After six years she moved upstairs to TUSC’s Rare Books Department, serving as head of that department until 1995. Just before TUSC moved to Jones Hall, Sylvia accepted the position of Manager of Rare Books and Special Collections at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH. She administered that repository for nine years before retiring to the Hill Country of Texas with her husband, Fred.
Working with TUSC’s Lafcadio Hearn collection inspired Sylvia to become an expert on Hearn; she was a founding member of the Lafcadio Hearn Society USA and made several trips to Japan to speak about him in addition to publishing the guide, Lafcadio Hearn and the Hearn Collection at Tulane, in 1992.
Bill and Sylvia were wonderful colleagues; both were down-to-earth with a droll sense of humor that made working with them enjoyable as well as enlightening. Tulane is indebted to them both.
Published 8/4/2025
