DEER ISLE – Mary E. (Cooper) Nyburg, 87, died April 5, 2006. She was born in Dixfield, and raised in Albion. She attended Westbrook Junior College and graduated from the University of Maine. After graduation she worked for a number of non-profit medical and social service organizations, including being a field director for CARE and a laboratory technician in eye research at Johns Hopkins Hospital. When she was 40 years old and living in Baltimore, Md., she discovered clay and began a life as a potter. For nearly 50 years, she made, sold and exhibited work and was a dedicated supporter of craft organizations. She was one of the founders of American Craft Enterprises, an organization that established markets for contemporary craft. She served on the boards of the Maryland Craft Council and the American Craft Council, and was later made an honorary trustee, was a delegate to World Crafts Council conferences in Peru, Turkey, Canada and Mexico. She was president of the board of trustees of the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and later elected an honorary trustee. She was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Craft Council and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Her own work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Art and Design, New York, the University of Utah, the Delaware Museum of Fine Arts and has been well used in homes throughout the country. She moved to Deer Isle in 1988 and opened the Blue Heron Gallery, which featured the work of the Haystack faculty and of leading makers from throughout the United States and Europe. She also made a significant commitment to Deer Isle, becoming active in the life of the community and serving on the boards of non-profit organizations including the Island Medical Center, the Memorial Ambulance Corps, the Island Nursing Home, the Healthy Island Project and the Blue Hill Memorial Hospital. She also mentored Island children in her pottery studio. She was predeceased by her husband, Robert Nyburg. She is survived by her adopted family, daughter, Finn Alban; grandson, Pablo Soto his wife, Cristina Cordova and their daughter, Paloma. A memorial service is planned for this summer. Contributions in her memory can be made to the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, (to establish a scholarship in her name), P.O. Box 518, Deer Isle, ME 04627 or to the charity of your choice.
MARY E. NYBURG
