San Quentin staff and residents shared fond memories
The San Quentin Rehabilitation Center has lost a beloved and longtime member of the community.
Douglas Jeffrey, 30-year veteran librarian at SQ, passed away April 7 at the age of 82. He served as the senior librarian until his retirement in 2020.
His commitment to the people of San Quentin will forever leave an impression in the hearts and minds of those who knew him.
“He was literally the coolest boss that I had ever had,” SQ resident and former library clerk George “Mesro” Coles-El said. “He was easy to talk to and very well-read.”
Many SQ residents and staff expressed appreciation for Jeffrey’s passion for helping others and the impact that his dedication had on the SQ community.
“He had a really amazing rapport with the incarcerated. He always maintained that as his primary focus,” Gabriel Loiederman, current SQ senior librarian, said.
Jeffrey’s peers knew him as a man of few words; the results of his work ethic and commitment are still evident today at The Q.
“He wasn’t going to tell you what you wanted to hear, he was going to tell you what was real,” resident and library clerk Larry Ryzak said.
Jeffrey was born on February 11, 1942, in Bakersfield, Calif. He served in the U.S. army for three years in the early 1960s and completed his Master’s Degree in library science at the University of Southern California. He began working for the California Department of Corrections in 1985 at the California Correctional Institute in Tehachapi.
Three years later he began his tenure at San Quentin, where he spent the rest of his career.
Jeffrey’s influence stretched through the entire community of Marin, where he was a well-known patron of local coffee shops, restaurants, and the Civic Center Library, said several who knew him outside of The Q.
Many recalled his eccentric sense of style and his quiet presence that could fill a room.
Marin local and SQ staffer David Yount recalled how he befriended Jeffrey at a local coffee shop, connecting with him over a mutual love of classic hats.
“We found out that we actually worked at the same place for over 16 years and had never spoken to each other,” Yount said.
In addition to Jeffrey’s work with the SQ general population, he also dedicated several years in service of the condemned population. He worked in the SHU library where he was able to foster relationships with some of the most secluded prisoners in the state.
“He was really into helping them [death-row inmates] with their cases,” said SQ Notary Public Mr. Cornell. “He would come back to the library and talk about how he could help them.”
Jeffrey created a safe and educational space for SQ residents to convene and socialize.
“His vision for the library was to cultivate an escape. Where the rules weren’t just in your face,” Loiederman said. “And since he left, I’ve tried wholeheartedly to adopt that attitude.”
San Quentin not only lost an employee, but a friend, a confidant, and a steward of equal justice.
“He lives forever in that library and will be missed,” Coles-El added. “Even when he had to put his foot down, it was all for the good of the library.”
