Bookseller John Peel, a longtime staff member at Dickson Street Bookshop, Fayetteville, Ark., died last weekend. In a tribute posted on social media, the bookstore wrote: "Yesterday we lost a most vital piece of our hearts. It is impossible to capture the uniquely wonderful, brilliant, loving, and kind hearted John Peel, but here is a whole hearted attempt to describe in words what can only be felt in the weight of his absence.
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"John was our longest and oldest employee, having come to us in 1984. His hands have touched a very large portion of the books that have come through our doors in the past 42 years. That in itself is so very magical. He had a keen knack for meeting people where they were and learning what makes them tick so that he could be a better friend to them. He marveled in everyone's uniqueness and used the awe he felt to individually inspire them. He often spoke of things that most people would not notice. John saw the importance of the things found in books before anyone else and has been making time capsules of them for decades.
"In short, he saw value in things that others would cast aside. When he spoke to you, it felt like you were the only person in the world, which made his every attention feel like a gift. He was our family. He was fiercely loved. Losing him so soon after losing [owner] Don [Choffel] has made us feel raw in a way only deep loss and extreme grief can inflict. We are so lucky to have had him. We were all made better by him. And our lives will never be the same. Love each other, for we do not know how long we shall have each other."