Amy Danette Hale - Janeke

Amy was a loving daughter, sister, aunt, wife, dog mom, and friend.

Amy earned a Bachelor of Science in Journalism at Lubbock Christian University (1995), a law degree from Texas Tech University (1998), and a Master of Library Science from the University of Arizona (1999). She worked as a reference librarian at the San Diego County Public Law Library for six years and then moved to New Orleans where she worked as the Head of Reference Services at the Federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for ten years. She loved being a law librarian - a “nerd’s nerd” as she called it.

Amy’s charm and radiant energy were irresistible forces for good in this world. She cared deeply about helping others and empowering them with knowledge. While working in San Diego, she created a class that taught the public how to find the law both online and in a law library. She felt like it was important for regular people to be familiar with how to look up the laws that governed them. While at the Fifth Circuit, she started a program to help prisoners research their cases. She was a member of The American Association of Law Libraries, contributed to multiple committees, served as the president of the New Orleans chapter for several years, and traveled around the U.S. giving workshops. Her classes filled up quickly as her fellow librarians loved her unique combination of wit and insights. She continued helping others even after she medically retired, showing her caretakers, nieces and nephews how to navigate into higher education and supporting them on their journeys.

Her passions included cooking (she loved using her Grannie Jean’s recipes), needlepoint (it was museum quality!), making jewelry and potholders, reading, swimming, playing Skip Bo with Mom while listening to their favorite music, cuddling with her chihuahua Johnny Cash, and bossing people around (aka dispensing helpful advice). Back in the day, she loved belly dancing, clubbing with Amanda, playing with her dachshunds Henry, Genie, TJ and Foxy, and skeet shooting with Dad using her long, skinny friend named Edna (a 20-gauge pump shotgun that he gave her when she moved to the French Quarter of NOLA).

She was incredibly intelligent and had a heart of gold, always taking care of those in need. Although later in life she was confined and frustrated by debilitating physical challenges, she found ways to move through, manage, and vocalize her thoughts and opinions without apology. She lived life to the absolute fullest. She was always the life of the party!

She loved 80’s and early 90’s music - some favorites include: David Bowie (Let’s Dance!), Pink Floyd, The Police, Cyndi Lauper (Girls Just Want to Have Fun), Erasure, Pet Shop Boys (What Have I Done to Deserve This?), Hall & Oates, Peter Gabriel, Yes, ELO, Roy Orbison, Matthew Wilder (Break My Stride), Michael Jackson (the entire Thriller album), and Cake.

Some of her favorite movies include: Xanadu, Flash Gordon, The Jerk, Kinky Boots, Star Wars and Star Trek, and foreign films (she loved “reading” them through the subtitles) - I’ve Loved You for so Long (French).

Special thanks to her caregivers - especially Shirley (her best friend), Angel (she was so proud of her), Simona (she loved teaching her how to drive without GPS), Lisa, and Roxie (her beading buddy) - and her amazing team of doctors - especially Doctors Jose Beceiro, Ana Cordon-Juarez, Kenneth Iwuji, Amanda Lewis, Catherine Reppa, and Michelle Tarbox - who looked at the Gordian knot of her symptoms and attempted to help anyway. We would also like to thank the amazing MICU team at UMC who fought valiantly to keep her with us. Doctors Franco and Chong tried everything they could. The nurses were our angels - especially Kamryn (she stayed after her shift to be with us during one of the high-risk procedures), Matt (he kept Mom’s spirits up), Abbi, Sam, and Sheena (she got us into a bigger room so we could stay with Amy round the clock).

Amy is survived by her loving husband of 25 years, Erik, her devoted mother Sharon and father Dan, her sister Amanda with whom she shared an unbreakable bond, her adopted brother Steven, her second mom Dianne and brother John, and many loving aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews, including sweet Uriah, Asher, Bella, and Lily, to whom she enjoyed passing on her nuggets of wisdom. She dearly loved her long-time friends Ruth, Reagan, Gwen, Kristopher, Jim, Klay, and Beth, her fellow law librarians, and many other wonderful new friends, including her hairdresser and confidant Jessica.

The world has lost a bright light and a beautiful soul. We will carry her memory and feisty spirit in our hearts forever.

If you’d like to make a charitable donation in her honor, her favorite nonprofits were Planned Parenthood, The Humane Society, Second Harvest Food Bank, and the Dachshund Rescue of North America.