Elizabeth Warnock Fernea

Elizabeth Warnock Fernea, beloved wife and mother and resident of Austin for more than 40 years, died peacefully at her daughter Laila's home in La Canada, California on December 2, 2008 following a long illness. Born Elizabeth Janet Warnock on October 21, 1927, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she was known as a child as Betty Jane. She moved with her family to Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada for her early childhood. In 1941, at age 14, she moved to Portland, Oregon, where she was graduated from Jefferson High School before earning a bachelor's degree in English from Reed College in 1947. At Reed, she landed the nickname "B.J." because there were three Betty Janes in the dorm Friends called her B.J. the rest of her life. Following graduation from Reed, B.J. spent a year at Mt. Holyoke College, where she worked as the assistant to the news director. In 1956, she married anthropologist Robert A. Fernea in Chicago and their life's adventures began. She and Bob moved to an Iraqi village for two years. Their time there inspired her best-selling memoir, "Guests of the Sheik," which is still used in college classes around the world. It also has been a popular and educational favorite for decades. B.J. and Bob moved to Cairo, Egypt in 1959, where their three children were born. In 1966, after a year in Cambridge, Massachusetts, she and Bob settled in Austin, where they raised their family. In the early 1970's, B.J. became a teacher at the University of Texas, where she remained for 24 years before retiringas a professor emeritus. B.J. more than fulfilled her childhood dream to become a best-selling author. In addition to the three books she wrote of her and her family's experiences in the Middle East including "A View of the Nile" and "A Street in Marrakech"), her scholarly books include "Middle Eastern Muslim Women Speak," "Women and Family in the Middle East: New Voices of Change," "In Search of Islamic Feminism: One Woman's Global Journey" and "Remembering Childhood in the Middle East." She co-authored "The Arab World: Personal Encounters" (reissued as "The Arab World: Forty Years of Change") and "Nubian Ethnographies" with her husband. She also was the author of many magazine articles, essays and book reviews. At the end of her life, she was composing a cookbook inspired by her Polish mother's heritage and her own travels. B.J. became a documentary film producer in her later professional life. After consulting on a film about Moroccan women in 1981, she produced several more, two of them funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Her films include "Saints and Spirits," "Reformers and Revolutionaries: Middle Eastern Women," "The Struggle for Peace: Israelis and Palestinians," "The Price of Change," "A Veiled Revolution," "Women under Siege," "The Road to Peace: Israelis and Palestinians" and "Living with the Past." She was world renowned in the field of woman's studies, particularly in the Middle East, and was asked to lecture around the world. In the early 1990s, she served as the first female president of the Middle East Studies Association of North America. On a personal note, she was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother--a nurturing, caring and loving person who adored her family. Many ex-students, as well as friends of her children, consider her a second mother. Over the years, she welcomed many people into her home for food, friendship, guidance and love. Most of these friendships endured, and as a result, a worldwide community of ex-students, families and friends mourn her passing. Hers and Bob's annual New Year's Day party was legendary; it was held from the 1950's through New Year's Day 2006. In her last years, she moved to San Diego with her husband, where she was able to spend more time with her California grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, David Wallace Warnock and Elizabeth Meshynski Warnock, and her younger brother, David, who was killed in service during the Korean War in 1951. She is survived by her husband, Robert, her daughter, Laura Ann of San Diego, California, and her husband Alberto Colorado and their children, Isabel, Maya, and Adela; her son, David of Austin, and his wife Kim and their sons, Weston and Ethan; and her daughter, Laila of La Canada, California and her husband Wes Stroben and their children, Emma, Bradley and Jack. She is also survived by innumerable friends, colleagues and admirers. A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, December 13th at St. Austin's Catholic Church. A reception will immediately follow. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that donations be made to a scholarship fund in her name at The University of Texas at Austin in care of The Center for Middle Eastern Studies.