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Obituaries

Recent Obituaries
In Memoriam Archive

Mary Jane Robertson ’62

June 30, 2021, in West Palm Beach, Florida, following a series of strokes.

At Reed, Mary Jane majored in physics and wrote her thesis, “Thermoelectric Power in Silver Halides,” with Prof. Roland Hanson [physics 1960–63]. Among the lifelong friends she made at Reed were Linda Elmlund Mahoney ’61 and Susan Palo ’62. Mary Jane loved studying calligraphy with Prof. Lloyd Reynolds [art and English 1929–69] and for the rest of her life wrote her signature in an elegant chancery cursive.

She worked as a computer programmer in a number of California cities and Phoenix, Arizona, before finally settling in Key West, Florida, where  she was captivated by the tropical climate and raffish bohemianism. She had for a time operated an independent bookstore in Detroit, and in Key West, Mary Jane worked in a bookstore, where she met and befriended the local clientele and many of the store’s visiting authors. Until the end, she made a weekly trek to the library, always returning with an armful of books. She is survived by her brother, Harry Robertson ’69

Appeared in Reed magazine: December 2021