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| Ray Hillenbrand | |
Ray Hillenbrand, who opened Mitzi's Books, Rapid City, S.D., in 2011 to fill the gap left by the closing of Borders and to fulfill the dream of his late sister Mitzi Hillenbrand Lally--who had bought the building wanting to create a community bookstore--died May 31. He was 84.
"He was an advocate of arts, books, and our community," bookseller Heather Herbaugh observed, sharing a photo of the bookshop's chalkboard tribute to Hillenbrand. "He revitalized our downtown area, opened our store when the Borders closed so our town wouldn't be left without a bookstore, and was responsible for countless projects that made our community better. We will miss him very much."
Prairie Edge, which is "dedicated to preserving traditions" and was owned by Hillenbrand, posted on Facebook that he "was a different kind of man, he came to Rapid City and noticed a great many things needed to change but that there was also a lot that needed to be preserved. He was a champion of the arts, specifically the art of the local Native Americans. His vision to uplift the lives of the local artists came to fruition when he began the long journey with Prairie Edge. He admired the natural talent of the Lakota artists and that quality of work deserved a fair price. He never wavered on that point.... We are sad that our friend passed away, but we are happy to have known someone who did so much good for his community and fellow man. Our hearts are with his family."
Rapid City "lost one of its great boosters," KOTA reported. "The man had an out-sized impact on many aspects of life in town and most people never knew it. And that's just the way he wanted it. It's hard to overestimate the impact Hillenbrand had on Rapid City."