Lorine McGinnis Schulze of Olive Tree Genealogy Passed Away

Today I was very sad to learn that Lorine McGinnis Schulze of Olive Tree Genealogy passed away yesterday.

When I was 8 or 9, I got an amazing genealogy book for kids through Scholastic book orders, called Digging for My Roots. It is full of charts, tables, and other worksheets for you to fill in as you learn about your family history. It’s been out of print for decades, but I still have my copy.

Our eldest son shares my interest in genealogy. I started looking for books about genealogy for kids to get for him. However, none of the currently published books I could find were anywhere near as good as Digging for My Roots.

I mentioned this book a few years ago in response to a Tweet by Lorine. I added, in passing, that I’d love to find something similar for my son.

A few months later, I received a direct message from Lorine. It turns out that after seeing my Tweet, on her own volition she searched out a copy of the book, and found one. She bought it and wanted to send it to me to give to my son.

The amazing thing was that the book was pristine. None of the worksheets had been filled in. Forty-plus years out of print, and not a single item filled in. I was gobsmacked.

Lorine absolutely refused to let me pay for the. She wouldn’t even let me pay for the shipping.

I felt gutted upon learning about Lorine’s death. Not only is it a huge loss for genealogy in Canada and in general, it is a huge loss of a wonderful and kind human being. My condolences to her family.