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    Mary Hanania Regier's memory board

    Family and friends

    Mary Regier, née Hanania, passed away in Berkeley, California, on December 28 2020. She was 94. She was born in 1926 into a Palestinian family and raised primarily in Jerusalem. An early interest in mathematics and statistics led her to a B.A. (1946) and M.A. (1948) from the American University of Beirut (AUB), and a Ph.D. (1957) from UC Berkeley. In 1958, she married Frank Regier, who moved ... more

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    1939

    Terry Regier George (older brother), Mary, and Jack (younger brother), in Jerusalem.

    1941

    Terry Regier George, Issa (father), Mary, Emily (mother), and Jack, in Dheisheh, Palestine.

    1948Beirut, Lebanon

    Randa Hanania Master’s Degree from AUB

    1948

    Terry Regier

    1950Beirut, Lebanon

    Randa Hanania Sameera Azzam, Henriette Azzam, and Mary Hanania during a hiking trip sponsored by an AUB student society. The Azzam ladies were not yet acquainted with Mary in this photo and though they did not know it then, in true destiny, Henriette would later marry Mary’s brother Jack.

    1950

    Brian McLeod This photo was from a trip to Baghdad with a student group from AUB. Mary and my mother Margot Boueri, chaperones on the trip, had just had tea with the queen before they met the boy king, here just in front of Mary in sunglasses.

    Chris R. Amazing picture! Thanks so much for sharing it, Brian.
    1951

    Chris Regier Punting in Cambridge.

    Chris R. George and Mary. Photo by Jack. Simon doing the work.
    1952

    Terry Regier Emily, Issa, and Mary, 1952-ish, probably in Damascus.

    4 Sep 1955Palo Alto, CA, United States

    christine moe Mary was the Maid of Honor for my parents' wedding (Claudia Moubayed and Paul Moe) in Palo Alto, California in 1955. She was a close friend of my mother for many decades. Such a brilliant and gracious woman!

    1956Lebanon

    Randa Siksek Picnic in Lebanon with (left to right)George Siksek, Jack Hanania, Mary Hanania, Emily Hanania, Saba Abdo, Zacharena and Daoud Abdo, Katy Abdo Siksek (in front) with baby Doris Siksek

    1957Berkeley, CA, United States

    John K. Kruschke Mary's PhD (1957) adviser was the ultra-famous statistician Jerzy Neyman. Because I've dabbled in statistics myself, I asked Mary about her experiences with Neyman during the era of acrimonious academic debates with Ronald Fisher (another towering figure of the 20th century). In her usual unpretentious manner, Mary said her experience with Neyman was quite positive (but did recall a seminar in which there was a heated exchange with a visiting Fisherian). In the photo, there's a paragraph from a biography about Neyman in which Mary is quoted.

    1958

    Terry Regier Frank joins Mary in Beirut.

    1958

    Terry Regier Dinner out in Beirut - Frank and Mary are toward the right.

    17 Jun 1958Beirut, Lebanon

    Randa Hanania Mary and Frank’s wedding

    17 Jun 1958

    Paul Regier Wedding - Jack, Mary, Frank, and Emily at Emily's house.

    1959

    Terry Regier Frank and Mary hiking in Lebanon.

    1961

    Terry Regier Terry joins the family.

    1963

    Terry Regier Mary at her desk at home, Beirut, early 1960s sometime.

    1964

    Terry Regier Chris joins the family. Altitude provided by Emily, Mary's mother.

    Mrs Regier (never Mary to me!) was practically a second mom to me for a few years there in Beirut. She was always so calm and sweet, truly a gentle soul

    Rob Bray1974
    1977Beirut, Lebanon

    Rima Hanania Terry, Mary, Chris and Frank (circa 1977)

    1984

    Terry Regier Frank, Chris, Terry, and Mary, after Frank's hostage experience was over.

    1987

    Terry Regier Frank and Mary in Strongsville, Ohio.

    1988Boston

    Rima Hanania At Hanania family reunion - Chris, Terry, Mary and Frank

    1988Boston, MA, United States

    Rima Hanania At Hanania family reunion - Jack, Honey, George, Edith, Frank and Mary.

    1988Boston

    Rima Hanania At the Hanania family reunion - Mary on the left in the yellow shirt. Here we all are, together again, as we were so often in Beirut days. Growing up in Beirut, we lived blocks away from each other and were often together, including Sunday lunches at our tata (grandmother) Emily's house. A wonderful childhood full of family and warmth which has endured even as we now live far apart.

    1988Chestnut Hill, MA

    Randa Hanania George, Mary, and Jack

    Jun 1992Cyprus

    Hugh Harcourt Mary regaling with AUB friends in Cyprus, from left (I think): John and Ingrid Munro, Mary, unkn. lady, back of Hugh Harcourt’s head, unkn. male trouser leg. Photo found lying about in residence of Shirley and Hugh Harcourt, leading to reveries and sharing of news of both John and Mary’s passing. Hugh confirms Mary was a wonderful friend and yes, a great cook and gracious host. Posted for Hugh (Portland OR) by Ramsey Harcourt (Seattle, WA).

    Chris R. Thanks, Harcourts. That's Ingrid with the sunglasses on Mom's left. I'm not sure who the other lady, between Mom and John, is.
    Hugh H. Thanks Chris! Between Shirley’s dementia, Hugh’s limited sight, and my memories, our debate of identities was comical at best. Ingrid in sun...
    12 Sep 1992Watertown, MA, United States

    Randa Hanania Jack and Mary at Mary’s niece Rania’s wedding

    14 May 1994Wellesley, MA, United States

    Randa Hanania Rania, Mary, Randa, and Ramzi at Ramzi’s wedding reception. (Photo taken by Landry Slade)

    1999

    Terry Regier Amal, Rima, and Mary in Byblos.

    1999

    Terry Regier Mary Hanania in front of a store named Hanania, near the church of St. Hanania (Ananias), in Damascus.

    2007Strongsville, OH, United States

    John K. Kruschke Mary, and her entire family, were always remarkably welcoming. Since the early/mid 2000's, Rima and I made regular Christmas visits to Strongsville. The two photos of Mary are from Christmas 2007 and 2009. After Mary moved to the Berkeley area, I was fortunate to visit her and family there too. Mary and her family always make me feel completely at home and embraced, for which I am deeply grateful.

    2008Ann Arbor, MI, United States

    Frederik Heineken mini-reunion with the Heinekens

    Aug 2009Strongsville, OH, United States

    Frederik Heineken mini-reunion with the Heinekens

    4 Jan 2011

    Chris Regier Christmastime in Strongsville

    Chris R. Amal, Terry, Mary, and Rima.
    2013Cleveland

    Rima Hanania The move to Berkeley. Almost single-handedly, Aunt Mary sorted through a house full of papers, objets d'art, and belongings to decide what stays and what goes. The hardest must have been the filing cabinets and boxes full of papers from 2 lifetimes and 2 academic careers. With cool pragmatism and determined tenacity, Aunt Mary made painful decisions to get rid of loads and loads of memories on paper. It took months, and was truly exhausting. During this time, Uncle Frank was not well and under nursing care, yet Aunt Mary stayed strong as always and carried on without wavering. Though I had known her all my life, this certainly illustrated to me in a new way what an incredible person Aunt Mary was.

    2015

    Terry Regier Classic Mom: gracious and bossy at once.

    2017

    Terry Regier Mary remembering her mother Emily.

    Mary Regier was my friend. I am a realtor and helped her find her house. We were together a lot as we looked at lots of houses for many months. I was so fond of Mary. She was very smart, kind and so proud of her family. Mary never complained although I knew she had significant physical problems. We got together every few months and I have mi...

    Joann Sullivan2021

    From the moment I stepped into her house, Mary made me feel cared for and welcomed with her offers of tea or Perrier and a bowl of nuts which she roasted herself. I will miss my visits with Mary, the joy we both took in conversing about the world and our lives. I so admired her quick mind, her broad general knowledge, her life experiences. I often ...

    Mona Halaby2021

    Posted on behalf of Robert Fraga: Could a half century have passed since I first met Mary? That doesn't seem possible but it's what the calendar says. I made her acquaintance in Beirut where we were colleagues at the AUB. Jean and I stayed at her flat our last night before being evacuated during the Six Day War. We stayed in touch after she an...

    Terry Regier2021

    From Rik: We will miss Mary so much – she meant so much to me and my family throughout my life. She was always there for us, strong and calm during the war years in Beirut, inviting and hospitable during our time in Ohio, always helpful and generous, interested in what we had to say, and always with a sense of humor. There are too many moments a...

    Frederik Heineken2021

    We have fond memories about Mary going back to the 60s in Lebanon. She was my brother-in-law's cousin and we used to meet socially and at Christmas. When I started my career in the early 60s our company was commissioned to undertake a statistical project for a major oil company in the Gulf. Mary at that time was the chair of the Mathematics departm...

    Ted Abdo2 Jan 2021

    During the June War, 1967, the U.S. Consulate ordered all Americans to report to the faculty parking lot at AUB to await evacuation from Beirut. Night was drawing near. Bob and I waited, uncomfortable on the hard pavement. Every quarter-hour or so, a loudspeaker boomed calling names to board the busses, to ferry them to the airport or harbor for pa...

    Robert Fraga4 Jan 2021

    In late 1969, I was an undergraduate at the American University of Beirut (AUB) interested in mathematics. I had no role models and I was floundering on a choice of a major to pursue. Then I met Mary. Here was a Palestinian woman who was the chair of the statistics department at AUB. I had never heard of statistics at the time but I knew then that ...

    Haiganoush Preisler5 Jan 2021

    I am perhaps one of the newest person Mary had in her life. I was her gardener, only recently, for just a few months. I had heard of her through my family as she was a high school classmate of my mother-in-law in Jerusalem and an AUB professor of my sister-in-law. I would go once a week to work on her garden which needed to be embellished. ...

    Cindy Krikorian6 Jan 2021

    And I drove Mary to medical appointments, of which she had many too many, dear Mary, but what a lovely person and what a good little friendship we had. Her voice was very particular, I liked talking with her on our drives, I liked that along with everything else she always had a copy of the economist to pass the time in the doctors offices. She did...

    Suzanne Riess10 Jan 2021

    Dear Terry and Chris, Growing up in Beirut, I chiefly remember Mary as your mother, the very graceful and genial mathematics professor - and one of the few women academics at AUB, a role model and friend to so many. Love and deepest sympathies from my mother and me - الله يرحمها ·

    Frances Dodd11 Feb 2021