In Memoriam Marion Meschter Kane January 2, 1945–August 20, 2012
Photograph courtesy of The Maine Community Foundation.
Marion Kane first came to College of the Atlantic in 1972 with her husband Dan, a founding faculty member, and her two sons. She began working for the college as director of public relations in the early 1980s. After the July 1983 fire that destroyed Kaelber Hall, Marion wrote about the resilience of the faculty and staff, of their commitment to rebuild, to start anew. Marion's articles, some of which were published nationally, and her quiet conversations with the college's many supporters, played a pivotal role in ensuring that the college would reopen and eventually triumph. In late 1983 she joined Ed Kaelber, COA founding president, in starting the Maine Community Foundation; in 1989 she became its director. Marion moved to Boston to head the Barr Foundation in 2000 and retired from there in 2008.
I have many memories of Marion — she was a friend, a colleague, a successful CEO, but mostly I remember Marion for her compassion, courage, independent spirit, and graciousness. She never faltered in her support of Dan as his Lou Gehrig's disease progressed and eventually took his life; and she fought and triumphed over her own cancer in much the same way. In her reflections on life's journey, Marion wrote about "how profoundly moved" she was by the thoughtful way Dan "conducted his final journey. Walking with him on that path had many gifts for me. It taught me that you can't measure a life in terms of time and that there is an art to being 'finished' when you die." Marion's can-do, unflappable attitude was recently exemplified by her two-year-old granddaughter, Tessa. I had stopped by the Kane home in Somesville; it was drizzling and Tessa, in her red boots, was ready to go out to play. The drizzle quickly turned to a downpour, but Tessa, like her grandmother, was not to be deterred: she opened her umbrella and jauntily went outside. Anne Kozak, faculty member in writing
Peter H. Liotta September 16, 1956–August 31, 2012 Poet, author, scholar, pilot, and international relations expert, Pete Liotta was a friend of the college whose extensive knowledge illuminated the interdisciplinary Twentieth Century and Turn of the Century classes I co-taught with John Anderson and JoAnne Carpenter. He touched many students with his knowledge, compassion, and humility. The author of seventeen books, a former US Air Force pilot and military attaché, Peter also served as Fulbright lecturer and poet-inresidence in the former Yugoslavia. He directed the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy for six years, and was a professor of political science and humanities at Salve Regina University at the time of his death. Bill Carpenter, faculty member in literature and creative writing
John Guard Darrah ('89) April 26, 1966–September 7, 2012 John Darrah was an activist who started college at COA in 1985, but left a year later to join the Great Peace March, walking across the nation to promote nuclear disarmament. He eventually graduated from UC Berkeley, where he helped to lead campus protests; he then began developing low-income housing in San Francisco, and later received an MBA from the Sloan School of Management at MIT. He was developing mixed-use, often environmentally sustainable projects around the nation when he died, tragically: John was swimming in Flathead Lake near Polson, Montana when he was struck by a boat, leaving behind a wife and two young daughters — and memories of happier times. Donna Gold
College of the Atlantic Magazine
43