Sue Lubeck, longtime owner of The Bookies Bookstore, dies in Denver

Sue Lubeck, a longtime Denver bookstore proprietor who championed speechmaking for children, died July 8 from leukemia. She was 87.

Lubeck, who owned The Bookies Bookstore started the concern successful the basement of her home, successful part, truthful that children could acquisition the magic of speechmaking and books, according to the store’s website.

“She filled her location basement with children’s books and opened her doors,” the website said. “Soon, the books were joined by teaching resources and they each spilled into the hallway, past the surviving room, and into the bedrooms!”

After astir 10 years, and with nary country to grow, the concern moved into commercialized space, yet landing astatine 4315 E. Mississippi Ave., wherever a seemingly ever smiling Lubeck was known to enactment the level and thrill children with her passionateness for reading.

Lubeck and her unit nurtured a estimation for hands-on, personalized service, and Bookies had a play readings time astatine the store, wherever parents brought successful toddlers for 30 minutes of storybook clip with a staffer.  The bookstore celebrates its 50th day this weekend,

“Whenever I inquire a genitor if they work to their children increasing up and they accidental yes, I past inquire them if they were bully students,” Lubeck told The Denver Post successful a 2014 story. “The reply is ever yes, truthful there’s a nonstop correlation.”

Lubeck was calved and raised successful Denver. A postgraduate of East High School, she majored successful pre-professional societal enactment astatine the University of Michigan, wherever she met her soon to beryllium hubby Marvin. Together they raised 3 boys, David, Daniel and Robert. Marvin died successful 2011.

Robert Lubeck has memories, “both bully and bad,”  of his ma moving the concern retired of the family’s home.

“She could ne'er accidental ‘no’ to someone,” Rob Lubeck recalled. “We’d beryllium sitting down to diner and idiosyncratic would sound connected the doorway looking for a ‘quick day gift.’ Steam would beryllium coming retired of my father’s ears. She ever enactment the request of customers and teachers arsenic fig one. It brought her a immense magnitude of pleasure, she lived and breathed the store. That was her surviving and her passion.”

The Bookies Bookstore, with implicit 100,000 titles for children and adults, was owned and operated by Lubeck until her death.

“She near the world inactive owning the store, she got her wish,” Rob Lubeck said.

The Bookies is having a 50th day enactment from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. There volition beryllium a sidewalk sale, drawback bags for purchase, clearance connected demo games, unrecorded amusement and prize giveaways.

“The 50th anniversary, we wanted her to beryllium here,” said Luke Henderson, a selling worker who coordinates store events. “In a batch of ways, we are trying to beryllium arsenic hearty arsenic we can, that is what she would want. Still, it’s beauteous hard. This was losing a friend, and a maternal figure, for a batch of us.”

Lubeck’s household plans to merchantability the business, hopefully to idiosyncratic section and autarkic who volition transportation connected the legacy, Robert Lubeck said.

A solemnisation of Lubeck’s beingness volition beryllium held from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 19, astatine the Washington Park Boat House, 701 S. Franklin St., Denver. The household asks that anyone attending to RSVP connected Facebook.

Memorial contributions whitethorn beryllium made to The Anchor Center for Blind Children; Friends of Man Charity Center; oregon Food Bank of the Rockies.