Obituary
Brendan Maher
He is survived by his loving wife Barbara, his children, Rebecca and husband Ken, Thomas and wife Linda, Nicholas, Liam and wife Jennifer, and Niall, and his grandchildren, Kieran, Sarah, Caitlin, Nicholas and Liam. After a long and productive life, and a distinguished career, he will be best remembered as a husband, father, grandfather and a man who could be both erudite and silly, who loved intellectual challenges and Irish songs, and who could spend hours telling stories of his time growing up in England, serving in the British Navy during World War II and of the foibles of academia. He is predeceased by his parents, and his four brothers. Mr. Maher was born and raised in England by his parents, Thomas and Agnes Maher. In the fall of 1942, shortly before his 18th birthday, he joined the Royal Navy. Maher spent most of his naval career on minesweepers, and participated in the D-Day operations as sub-lieutenant aboard the ML 137. His time in the navy, and his participation in D-Day, was chronicled with help of his wife Barbara in the book "Passage to Sword Beach." In June 1945, Maher was wounded during minesweeping operations by the explosion of grenades on board the ship. He served in the Navy until 1947. In 1950, Maher received his bachelor of arts degree from Manchester University. He then came to the U.S. to study at Ohio State University on a Fulbright scholarship. He earned his PhD in psychology. On Aug. 27, 1952, he married Winifred Barbara Brown, who also earned her PhD in psychology from Ohio State, beginning a 56-year marriage. Maher's career in academia is notable for his combination of skills in teaching, research and as an administrator. He taught and did research at Northwestern University, Louisiana State University, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Copenhagen, and Brandeis University, where he also served as dean of the Graduate School and dean of the faculty. Maher spent most of his career at Harvard University, where he held the position of Edward C. Henderson professor of the psychology of personality, and dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. After his retirement in 1999, he continued his active involvement in research. Throughout his career, Mr. Maher published numerous articles and books based on his research on schizophrenia and other areas of interest. Although he will be greatly missed, the good in him will live on in his family and those who knew and loved him, and the happy memories will not fade. Donations may be made to Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Research. Obituary courtesy of
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