Marilyn Doubrava, BA '58

Sterling and Kathryn Doubrava generously established the Marilyn A. Doubrava Endowment Fund to honor their daughter, Marilyn, a 1958 graduate of the English department who died in 1995 from pancreatic cancer at the age of 59.

Marilyn is remembered by her three sons for her love of learning, language, and life, instilling in them at an early age a deep appreciation for literature, poetry, humor – and cats.

Marilyn’s brother, Max, a 1959 graduate of the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, remembered his sister as a creative musician, painter, and poet, and was delighted that his parents, who both died in 1996, chose to honor the university that played such an important role in her formation.

“My sister found here a complete English department and a path for her life,” Doubrava said.

Thanks to the growth of the endowment since its establishment in 1998 through the generous trust gift from Sterling and Kathryn, the English department can now distribute four Doubrava fellowships each academic year.