In renaming library, Chichester's dedication to city honored

Details: Lance Martin; News; 23 November 2024; 570

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The Roanoke Rapids library now bears the name of a man who speakers said today dedicated himself to law, the city and the area as a whole — Gilbert Chichester.

“It’s very exciting to remember such a special person in our community,” City Manager Kelly Traynham said as she opened the ceremony renaming the facility on Roanoke Avenue the Chichester Memorial Library.’

Former Head Librarian Jeff Watson, who served in that position for 13 of his 14 years, said before delivering the invocation, “I know a lot of work has been done to put this together and I’m just honored and thrilled to be back home today.”

In his opening prayer, Watson said, “This is a place of discovery, information, and learning. “It’s a place where community can be built and I pray that those purposes will be fulfilled for many, many years from now.”

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Mayor’s comments

Mayor Emery Doughtie said he was always impressed with Chichester’s breadth of knowledge. “I was scared to death to call him but he said, ‘you are my mayor. You know I work for you and the city council.’”

The mayor said the city was fortunate to have Chichester, who died February 5, 2022, for the time it did. “When he was getting ready to step down from being our attorney, we just told him that Roanoke Rapids, Halifax County and the area was a better place because we had him with us.”

Remembering a mentor

Current City Attorney Geoffrey Davis, who also practiced law with Chichester for more than 12 years, said, “I was only the last in a long line of attorneys who practiced with him. There were many more that he mentored and that he talked with and that he counseled. So many people have benefited from his wisdom, his counsel, and his knowledge over the years as far as attorneys and he made the lives of their clients better.”

Chichester was a pioneer in court-ordered mediation. “He always told me he was skeptical about that when it was instituted but he went and did it. He got to be a certified mediator.”

Beyond his expertise in mediation and personal injury law, was his service to the community. “One of the things that Gilbert said to me when I first started practicing with him was that he didn’t believe in charging consultation fees.”

Nowadays, especially in larger places, it’s difficult to get into an attorney’s office without paying $75 or $100 “just for the benefit of talking with them and having them listen to your problem. Even at the end of that, the attorney’s just going to pat their hand and say, ‘I’m sorry. It’s a bad situation, but you don’t have a case.’ Gilbert never did that.”

Said Davis: “I think one lesson that we can take from Gilbert’s life is to be giving of your time and giving of your knowledge and your expertise.”

Dedication to the city

And then there was the city. “ … He told me and I believed this, when he stepped down (he said) that the single client he enjoyed representing the most out of over 40 years of practicing law was the city of Roanoke Rapids.”
He took over during a time when the city was reeling from the failure of Carolina Crossroads. “We had several other things going on at the time but throughout all that, through all the negotiations and the litigation, the back and forth as far as the theater, through various changes of city managers and police chiefs, through all the drama of representing an organization as big as the city of Roanoke Rapids, Gilbert gave his time to do that.”

Davis said Chichester did not bill for all the work he did for the city. Many towns don’t have the same level of service they had under him. “The level of service he gave to this city is above and beyond what many attorneys would do in his situation.”

A fitting honor

Naming the library in his honor, Davis said, is a perfect fit. “Gilbert was a big reader. He read, especially nonfiction books and biographies … There’s something really beautiful about having a library named after him. I would say, on behalf of the legal profession and the bar in Halifax County, that this is absolutely appropriate.”

Great pride in serving

His wife Stacie said, “I know that he would be very humbled with the dedication. Gilbert took great pride in serving his community and the surrounding communities. He also treasured his time as the city attorney.”

She said the memorial “is really a great testimony to him both professionally and personally because Gilbert was an avid reader.”

He also loved children, Stacie said. “He loved to watch kids and watch them thrive in the world and watch them explore their world. In the library, that’s exactly what they get to do in these books. They get to enhance their imaginations.”

She said, “It means a lot to have all of you here with us today and he’s certainly going to be missed and he’s forever going to be loved by every one of us.”

A daughter’s memories

Chichester’s daughter Terri there is a backstory to books and the family. “Whatever book he was poring over I got to sign my name in it. The better I got at signing my name, the more books it would be present in.”

She remembers asking her father when do you get to stop reading. “He told me not ever because knowledge always grows … So along with everything else that everyone has said, which has been wonderful, I would like to ring that bell and say what a wonderful choice. My family and I thank you all very much.”

Traynham’s final thoughts

After reading a resolution council adopted last year, Traynham said, “He touched everyone’s life here. We all know how much time he took spending with people. That means so much because you can’t get it back and we would all give a lot more to have him here today.”

She said, however, “It’s so comforting knowing that this facility is being named after him for future generations coming in, looking for information.”

The library, she said, is not just a repository for books or a list of facts on the wall. “There’s stories in here. There’s multiple sides of stories being shared … You can come in here and have a place of imagination and hope.”

Said Traynham: “You can find comfort. You can find many ways to improve your life and I think that’s what Gilbert always looked for in people and helped to bring out in people — ways that they would realize within themselves and things that they could do to improve their path.”