Professor Roy Martin Mersky

Professor Roy Martin Mersky Professor Roy Martin Mersky, died of complications from lymphoma, on May 6, 2008. He was 82. He had been a member of the University of Texas law school faculty and the director of the Tarlton Law Library since 1965. He held the Harry M. Reasoner Regents Chair in Law and the Hyder Centennial faculty fellowship in law. Professor Mersky received his JD in 1962 and a Master's degree in Library Science in 1953 from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Roy was born in New York in 1925, and lived there until his undergraduate studies were interrupted by World War II, where he served in the infantry and was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge. He was so determined to fight fascism, he memorized the eye chart so he could pass his physical exam for the army in spite of his poor vision. His tour of duty was his introduction to world travel; fortunately, his subsequent world travels were under much more pleasurable circumstances. Roy began his professional career at Yale, moved to Olympia, Washington to serve as the law librarian for the State Supreme Court, returned to academia at Colorado University, Boulder, and then moved to Austin and UT in 1965. He loved his adopted city of Austin, and enjoyed rituals such as frequent swims at Barton Springs and Sunday Mexican breakfasts with his family. He was a lifelong Democrat and followed politics avidly. He was the president of the Austin ACLU in 1968 and was always proud of his involvement in the civil rights movement, highlighted by his march to Selma, Alabama to fight desegregation, with Martin Luther King, in 1963. All who knew him admired his impressive energy, vitality, and passionate commitment to the field of library science. He worked vigorously until a few weeks before his death. He published widely and held leadership positions in his many professional organizations. He will be remembered as a dedicated mentor to the many law librarians who studied and worked with him. His daughters will remember him for his commitment to social justice, his appreciation of the arts, his love of travel, and his sense of humor. Roy is famous for the personal and voluminous newspaper clippings he sent his family and a wide array of friends. He expressed his Jewish identity through his commitment to social action, peace and justice. He was very proud of his 3 grand-daughters, and was very devoted to his individual relationships with each one of them. Their special name for him was Zaida, which means grandfather in Yiddish, and it became an affectionate nickname for him in the family. He is survived by his wife, Rosemary Bunnage Mersky, his 3 daughters: Lisa Mersky of Austin, Texas, Deborah Mersky and her partner Art Petersen of Seattle, Washington and Austin, and Ruth and Keith Pool of Austin; his granddaughters Grace and Rebekah Pool and Sophia Burns, his sister Bernice Eisler of Long Beach, New York, his niece Donna Gold and her husband Jay, and his nephew, Howard Eisler, and his first wife and mother of his daughters, Deena Mersky of Austin.. He will also be missed by his Australian family, Bill Bunnage and his partner Airlie Morris, Andrew and Jenny Bunnage and Ross and Melinda Bunnage, the six grandchildren. and his special Austin friends, Nancy Byrd and Bill Moore, and Gwyn Anderson, his devoted assistant for 37 years. The family wishes to extend special thanks to Dr. John Sandbach and his nurse Sarah Roberts for their devoted care to Roy for many years. The family will receive close friends and relatives for a visitation from 4 – 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 10 at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 3125 North Lamar. The memorial service will be Sunday, May 11 at 2:30 p.m. at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home. The University of Texas will hold a Memorial Service in his honor in early Fall. In lieu of flowers, gifts in Roy's memory may be sent to: The Roy M. Mersky Memorial Fund, University of Texas Law School Foundation, 727 East Dean Keeton St., Austin, TX 78705. Obituary and guestbook online at wcfish.com