Marietta Hanifi

Okemos--Marietta Hanifi passed away Friday, March 10, 2023 at the age of 84. Marietta was born in Lansing, Michigan on March 28, 1938. She was the youngest child of Wadie and Dagna (Olson) Kassouf. Marietta was preceded in death by her parents, brothers Fuad and Philippe Kassouf. Her older sister, Evon Betty Murphy, passed away during December 2022. Marietta graduated from Saint Mary High School of Lansing in1956. She received her B.A. degree from Mexico City College in 1961. During 1962 she worked for AT&T in Lansing. During 1963 she served as a substitute teacher in the Lansing area and as a part-time clerk at the MSU Student Services office. During 1964-65 she taught at elementary schools near Lansing. On May 1964 Marietta married M. Jamil Hanifi, a graduate student in anthropology at Michigan State University at the MSU Alumni Memorial Chapel. During September 1965 the couple moved to Illinois where her husband started graduate studies in anthropology at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Through 1965-1968 Marietta taught part-time elementary education in public schools near Carbondale. During 1968-1969, while her husband was teaching at California State University-Los Angeles, Marietta taught in an elementary school in Long Beach, California. During 1969-1990 Jamil was a professor of anthropology at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois. Marietta received her M.Sc. in education from Northern Illinois University in 1974. She taught elementary education in Hinckley, Illinois during 1969-1971 and in Sycamore, Illinois during 1971-1990. Thereafter Marietta and her husband moved to East Lansing/Okemos, Michigan. From 1990 to 2012 Marietta taught special education (with emphasis on reading) at Pinecrest School in East Lansing. She retired in 2012. Marietta is survived by her loving husband M. Jamil Hanifi, and their son, Shah Mahmoud Hanifi and his wife, Martie Hanifi; grandchildren Qais Jabar Hanifi (children—Laila and Amina) and Ariana Aliya Hanifi (children—Amara and Aiyla). Other living relatives of Marietta include her niece Michelle (Murphy) Kitto, her husband, William Kitto, and their children; her nephew, Philippe Kassouf and his younger sister Rene’. Another surviving member of Marietta’s active kinship group is her step-son, Khalid Hanifi. Marietta’s early-life enculturation, formal education, personal and ethnographic encounters with diverse cultures cradled the rich and informed comparative glow of her personal, social and professional life. During her adult life-course Marietta personally experienced several Western and Eastern cultures. She and her husband visited virtually all states in the United States, travelled to Mexico, Canada, Afghanistan, England, France, Italy, Germany, Russia, Tajikistan, and Pakistan. During her teaching years in East Lansing and after retirement she participated in several formal and informal networks of her teaching colleagues. She had a great deal of respect and affection for members of these groups. Prominent in this circle of Marietta’s friends was the HELO CLUB of East Lansing and a reading circle of former teachers and friends. Marietta was an avid reader of novels and academic writings in humanities and social sciences. A memorial celebration of the life course of Marietta Hanifi will be convened at a later date.