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MEMORIALS

Ruth Tonkiss Cameron (1950-2023)
Ruth Tonkiss Cameron, the Burke Library’s Archivist for nearly 20 
years until her retirement in 2016, passed away on December 2, 
2023, after a long illness. Ruth’s passion for the Burke’s archives 
was formidable, and her expertise was an enormous benefit to 
researchers and colleagues alike. Ruth was deeply committed to 
helping scholars and students from near and far. Her extensive 
knowledge of the contexts of the collections—historical, cultural, 
theological—and of the collections themselves, enabled her to pro-
vide insightful support to countless archival researchers over the 
years. Those who worked with her recall her profound dedication 
to preserving the sources and stories in the archives and sharing 
them with others.

Among her many accomplishments at the Burke was develop-
ing and expanding the renowned Archives of Women in Theologi-
cal Scholarship collections, as well as the archives and records of 
Union Theological Seminary. She also worked to preserve, process, 
and expand the Burke’s celebrated Missionary Research Library 
archives. Her accomplishments at the Burke have left a rich and 
enduring legacy for present and future generations of scholarship 
and learning.

Kathryn (Kathie) Luther Henderson 
(1923-2022)
Professor Emerita Kathryn (Kathie) Luther Henderson of Univer-
sity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign passed away on August 18, 2022. 

Kathie earned all her college degrees at the University of Illinois 
Urbana-Champaign including an MS in library science in 1951. 



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A founding member and first national secretary of Beta Phi Mu, 
the international honor society for library and information stud-
ies, she held positions in the University of Illinois Library, first as 
a clerical assistant from 1944-1946 and then as a serial cataloger 
from 1950-1953.

In 1953, she moved to Chicago, where she held positions as cir-
culation librarian (1953-1956) and head cataloger (1956-1965) at 
McCormick Theological Seminary.

In 1965, Kathie was asked to join the faculty of the Graduate 
School of Library Science (now the School of Information Sciences) 
and returned to Urbana, teaching Cataloging and Classification, 
Technical Services Functions, and Preserving Information Re-
sources. She developed computer-assisted instruction lessons for 
cataloging using PLATO as early as 1971. Regularly receiving out-
standing ratings from students on course evaluations, in 1991 she 
was recognized at the campus level for her significant contribu-
tions as a teacher with the Award for Excellence in Graduate and 
Professional Teaching.

In 1993, she was recognized at the 1993 American Library As-
sociation conference as the winner of the 1993 Beta Phi Mu Award 
citing her “distinguished record of teaching and service that has 
defined an uncommon level of excellence and has challenged and 
inspired a generation of librarians and library educators.”

Kathie was a longstanding member of multiple professional 
associations, including the American Library Association and the 
American Theological Library Association, now Atla. She served 
on and chaired numerous committees related to technical services, 
cataloging, and classification. 

While Kathryn Luther Henderson has made numerous research 
and service contributions, her most valuable legacy is the hun-
dreds of students whom she taught. Students were inspired by her 
example to be enthusiastic about librarianship and to strive for 
excellence in their work just as she sought excellence in teaching.

Clifford Wunderlich (1950-2024)
Clifford Scott Wunderlich passed away on May 18, 2024. He was 74 
years old.



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Born in Chicago on February 5, 1950, Cliff was a graduate of 
Ohio Wesleyan University and the Yale Divinity School. He came to 
Harvard in 1976 as a doctoral student in the Department of Near 
Eastern Languages and Civilizations and worked as a student assis-
tant at the then Andover-Harvard Theological Library at the Har-
vard Divinity School.

He became a regular member of the library staff in 1985, after 
working for a few years at the Episcopal Divinity School, in Cam-
bridge. During his 32-year tenure at HDS, Cliff served first as a cata-
loger and then as a public services librarian, eventually becoming 
head of research services and curator of digital collections. He re-
tired in 2017. 

Cliff was a steadfast proponent of publicizing the unique collec-
tions the library had, from collaborating with Emory and Princeton 
to digitize a collection of Thanksgiving Day Sermons, to featuring 
historical images of UU churches and people on the library’s web-
site, to putting on numerous library exhibits featuring resources 
from special collections.

Cliff is survived by his husband David Shuckra; his sisters 
Cande, Christel, and Claudia; several nieces and nephews; and 
grand nephews and nieces.


