I miss her tremendously.  She was for me a professor of English yes, but firstly a woman of compassion and gentleness.  I was a college student alne and without family and in a new and strange surrounding when she befriended me.  The tenderness she showed me is something I will always treasure for whe surely was a teacher of many wonderful things.  Joe Larranaga Jr., Stockton, CA (class of 1972)

I team taught with Hildy for several years and learned as much as the students. She was a really wonderful teacher! She had an amazing ability to stimulate and direct a discussion without seeming to, and the conclusions were more significant because we all thought we'd discovered them ourselves.
RIP, Hildy!

Thank you for your contributions during a distinguished career. Best wishes from your colleagues.

Miss Weiss, as we undergrads referred to her at PSU, was one of those "inspirational" teachers who's influence and style have remained as an absorbrd part of my DNA beginning with my first lit. class in 1963.  As a northeast Portland kid who had completed only one year of high school (all F's and one D for that year) and equipped with only an Army issued GED and fair SAT scores, my English skills were definitely in need of some "fine-tuning." She brought the classics to life and instilled a love of reading and that has enriched my life beyond comprehension.  It is uncertain as to whether or not I would have survived in college without her help.
I took a total of three courses from her.  She was a teriffic teacher who could "cut you up with a smile" then challenge you to think in more innovative directions and, many times make you think you had come to those brainy conclusions all on your own.  
Senior year as a student in her Satire class, thinking I was the next coming of George Orwell, I asked if I could write a short satirical piece instead of an assigned class paper. She reluctantly agreed.  I should have written the class-asigned paper.  I got a C on the paper and a B in the course.  I think she was generous giving me a C on my "satirical essay."  
After graduation, sometime in 1968, I called her and asked her to read a short story I had written.  She didn't have to be some damn honest!  Her last sentence in reviewing the piece was "You need to learn your craft."  As usual, she was "dead-on." 
I'll never forget her.  She was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Hildegard, you are missed by your may friends. We are grateful for your inspiration as a teacher and scholar, and your laughter, love of life and kindness in friendship will live in our memories.
~Rest in peace and thank you for being you.

I have missed you and hope you are in a better place. Much Love and thanks for all you have done for Denzell and myself. XOXOXO

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Hildegard Marie Weiss

23 August, 1918 – 30 March, 2012

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