Deena Hersh Mersky

It is with heavy hearts that she share the sad news that our mother, Deena Mersky, died Friday August 10, at the age of 87, surrounded by her family. Like everything she did in life, she did it “her way.” She had been given a life expectancy of 3 to 6 months, and seemed to be in pretty good shape considering she had metastasized lung cancer, but yesterday morning after eating her favorite breakfast taco, she sat down in her favorite lounge chair, took a nap, fell asleep and didn’t wake up. It was a peaceful passing. Deena was born in New York January 14, 1931, to Phillip and Mildred Hersh. Her parents were immigrants from Russia and Poland who became successful business people in Mt. Vernon, New York. Deena had an older brother Reuben, and an older cousin Florence she was very close to. Deena had an adventurous life. After attending a year at Goddard College, she spent a year traveling around Israel, visiting relatives and living on a kibbutz. She then transferred to the University of Wisconsin, where she met our father, Roy Mersky. They married and had three children: Lisa Mersky, Deborah Mersky and Ruth Mersky Pool. As our Dad pursued his path to the University of Texas Law School, they lived in Connecticut, Washington State, and Boulder, Colorado, before they happily made it to Austin and finally settled down. As a homemaker, Deena was very active in political and community affairs. She took classes in woodworking and learned to play the recorder. As we girls got older, she returned to school and pursued a Master's Degree in Social Work. She worked in her beloved chosen field into her early 70’s. Her initial passion was women’s reproductive health: she worked at Planned Parenthood as a social worker and served as Chairman of the Board. Then she found her true calling as professor of Social Work at the University of Texas, where she influenced the lives of countless students and colleagues, between the years of 1976 to 2000. She had a lifelong commitment to progressive politics and social equality. She marched against the Vietnam war, and for civil rights. Mom was a community activist, an arts appreciator and encourager, a 50 year member of KMFA. She served on the board of Planned Parenthood, Women and Their Work, and Jewish Family Services. She was a creative cook, and a pioneer in trying recipes from other cultures. She was a collector of countless beautiful objects and interesting plants, a recycler and a re-user. She was a talented and creative flower arranger and home decorator. She had a great eye for ethnic jewelry. She loved the full moon and always let us know when it was arriving. She was fond of ritual and tradition, a creative crafter, a music lover, a great storyteller, an inveterate bargain hunter, and she had a very playful sense of humor. She was a world traveler (Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Portugal, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Nicaragua, Honduras, Belgium, England, Wales, and Israel.) As much as she loved Texas, she had a very special place in her heart for her summer home and friends in Lee, Massachusetts. Built by her parents in 1971, many family memories and traditions were created there. Her favorite pie was strawberry rhubarb, and her favorite drink was Campari. She loved her children, her grandchildren, her family, and her huge extended family of friends, and especially her famous dog Stella. Our mother was one of a kind, a force of nature. We appreciate her for her constant encouragement of our creativity, for instilling wonderful values in us, and for teaching us how to appreciate the wonders of the world. Having had only daughters and granddaughters, she felt very fortunate in falling in love with two wonderful son-in-laws, one grand son-in law, and very special boy friends. She is is survived by her daughters Lisa Mersky (Albert Garcia), Ruth Pool, (Keith Pool), Deborah Mersky, Grace Pool Brady (Ryan Brady), Sophia Rose Burns, and Rebekah Pool. Her brother, Reuben Hersh, age 90, and his children, Eva and Daniel Hersh, and very special cousins, Tamara Lubliner and Merry Fanshel. And Donna Gold and family, And countless other relatives and very special friends, too numerous to name. Her favorite saying was “Vote early, and vote often.” (But only if you are a Democrat), she always added! If you would like to honor Deena with a contribution, she asks you to donate to any cause which will remove the current president and those who support him, sooner rather than later. She asks us to work to stop gerrymandering and guarantee each person one vote. She asks us to prevent corporate money from impacting politics. The world has lost a shining star...

Deena Hersh Mersky

January 14, 1931 - August 10, 2018