Dr. Marilyn Silverman: April 30, 1945 – June 18, 2019
Our former colleague, Marilyn Silverman, passed away yesterday, Tuesday 18th June 2019, after a long, arduous, and courageous struggle with cancer. She was a longstanding member of the Department of Anthropology, fundamental in shaping it to its present position as one of the pre-eminent departments in Canada. She joined the department in 1971 as a young Lecturer and from 1996 until her retirement was Full Professor. An outstanding undergraduate lecturer and teacher, she was also a superb seminar director and a rigorous yet devoted supervisor at the graduate level. Her early field research was conducted in Guyana and Ecuador; later field research was conducted in Ireland with her partner and departmental colleague at York, Philip Gulliver, who pre-deceased her last year. She won Canadian and international recognition for the quality of her extensive publications. She will also be remembered for her longstanding university-wide service, in particular for her active and effective service as a member of YUFA, and as a founding member and early coordinator of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program.
A longer obituary on Marilyn’s professional career as an anthropologist will be published later, on the website of the Canadian Anthropology Society (CASCA). A family obituary will be published in the Toronto Star and Montreal Gazette on Friday, 21st June 2019. Funeral details are available at the following website: https://www.paperman.com/en/funerals/2019-6-21-marilyn-silverman
A celebration of her life will take place in Toronto later this year.