MARLI FRANCES WEINER

BANGOR – Marli Frances Weiner, professor of history at the University of Maine, Orono, died March 2, 2009, in Bangor, of cancer. Born Jan. 9, 1953, in Brooklyn, N.Y., Dr. Weiner was the daughter of Walter and the late Phyllis (Hirsch) Weiner. Raised primarily in Stamford, Conn., she received her undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University in three years, her master’s degree in history from Sarah Lawrence College, and her doctorate in history from the University of Rochester in 1986. Dr. Weiner taught at Cornell University, St. Lawrence College, University of Vermont, Grinnell College and the University of New Hampshire before coming to the University of Maine, Orono, in 1988. An active scholar, Dr. Weiner authored numerous professional papers and books. They include: “Plantation Women: South Carolina Mistresses and Slaves, 1830-1880, (University of Illinois Press 1998); “A Heritage of Woe: The Civil War Diary of Grace Brown Elmore” (University of Georgia Press 1997); “Of Place and Gender: Women in Maine History” (Editor) (University of Maine Press 2005); and “My House Has Been a Hospital: The Experience of Illness in the Antebellum South” (University of Illinois Press, forthcoming). Dr. Weiner was a talented teacher of many undergraduate and graduate courses at the University of Maine, including 19th century history, women’s history, history of the South and African-American history. She also directed a large number of Master of Arts and doctorate candidates. She had held a Bird and Bird endowed chair since 2005. Dr. Weiner gave unstintingly of her time to the Maine Humanities Council from 1994 to 2004, serving first as a board member, then vice chair and finally, chair of the council. She was a key participant in the literature and medicine project sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Maine Humanities Council, which became a national model for similar projects uniting doctors, nurses and administrators in monthly discussions of literature. As part of the project, she was seminar leader for a dedicated monthly reading and discussion group at Maine Coast Memorial Hospital, Ellsworth, from 2000 to 2008. She led the same literature and medicine discussions at Mayo Regional Hospital, Dover-Foxcroft. She was lead scholar for American Lives: Teaching History through Biography, a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to SAD 11 middle school and high school social studies and English teachers. The Lilly Endowment and the Maine Humanities Council sponsored the Tocqueville Seminar for Civil Leadership at Eastern Maine Medical Center for which she served as seminar leader. Dr. Weiner will be sadly missed by her partner, Judith Thornton; as well as by their menagerie of two dogs and four cats. She is also survived by her beloved family members: her father, Walter Weiner; sister, Diane Weiner of Stamford, Conn.; brother, Michael Weiner; sister-in-law, Lucille Weiner; niece, Rachel Weiner; and nephew, Matthew Weiner, all of Scarsdale, N.Y.; and many valued friends, especially Noam and Zivi Osher of Orono. Dr. Weiner was predeceased by her mother, Phyllis Weiner. Her partner, Judith, gives heartfelt thanks to the many family members, friends, colleagues and health care providers who provided invaluable practical and moral support during Marli’s illness. A memorial service will be held 1:30 p.m. Sunday, March 22, at Congregation Beth El, Bangor. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Maine Humanities Council, the American Cancer Society or Spruce Run would be appreciated.