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Maxine Elaine Mugg McCloskey MAT ’63

Maxine Elaine Mugg McCloskey MAT ’63, April 14, 2006, from cancer, in Portland. Following receipt of her master’s degree, Maxine taught history and political science at Merritt College in Oakland, California. She married Clyde R. Johnson ’25, professor of chemistry at Portland State. Clyde died in 1964. In 1965, she married Michael McCloskey, executive director of the Sierra Club. Together, the couple were dedicated leaders in the environmental movement of the ’60s and ’70s, and were diligent in protecting gains made in protecting species, sanctuaries, wilderness, and habitats around the world during less politically favorable times. Maxine's enduring passion was protecting whales. She established the Whale Center in Oakland, California, in the mid-’70s, helped to establish the international moratorium on commercial whaling, which was approved in 1982, and also helped to establish the Point Reyes/Farallones National Marine Sanctuary in California. She was an accomplished seamstress, a patron of the arts, and an active supporter of the Democratic party. Survivors include her husband, three daughters and a son, and five grandchildren.

Appeared in Reed magazine: August 2006

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