Marilyn "Mim" Ada (Klein) Berliner

Marilyn “Mim” Ada (Klein) Berliner passed away peacefully at her home in Brookline, MA on February 20, 2021 at the age of 93, with her family and her devoted caregiver at her side. Born on July 17, 1927 in Brooklyn, New York, to Zelda (Moskowitz), an officer administrator, and Abraham Klein, a rare book dealer, she grew up in Brooklyn, New York. As a child, she travelled uptown with her violin by subway for lessons, attended Erasmus High School, and later received her BA in psychology from Brooklyn College. After meeting her beshert, her late husband, Barney Berliner, over an office machine needing repair at Cooper Union, where she was working and he was a student, they married and moved to Boston. They later moved to Brookline, where they made their home for the rest of their lives and where their daughters Susan and Nancy were born and raised. Mim attended the Boston University School of Social Work, where she received her MSW and worked for many years at Beth Israel Medical Center, where she loved her work.

Passionate about the arts she and her late husband, together with several friends, developed the vision for and then started the Brookline Arts Center. Working initially as a volunteer, she subsequently became the executive director. Among the many contributions she made was the development of ways to make art classes accessible to more people, melding her passion for the arts and social justice.

She will be remembered as a loving and supportive mother and for her love of her morning coffee, her creative and gourmet cooking, warm smile, hospitality and generosity, talents as a skilled and compassionate listener and confidante. A world traveler, she and her late husband welcomed many people from around the world into their home and lives.

She will be profoundly missed by her daughters Susan Berliner and her partner Mary Gunn, Nancy Berliner and Jamil Simon as well as extended family and friends.

Due to current health restrictions, private services have already been held.

Donations in her memory may be made to the Brookline Arts Center, 86 Monmouth Street, Brookline, MA 02446 www.brooklineartscenter.com