LEWISTON – Marilyn Nair Hirshler, 73, a resident of Ware Street, died early Sunday at her home, following a short illness.

She was born May 24, 1931, in Hartford, Conn., the daughter of David L. and Dora (Rokaw) Nair. She grew up in New Britain, Conn., graduating from New Britain High School in 1948. In 1952, she graduated from Smith College in Northampton, Mass., and moved to New York City where she worked for five years at the New York Public Library and the Book of the Month Club.

She married Eric E. Hirshler of Lewiston, May 3, 1953, in New Jersey. After spending two years in New Haven, Conn., the Hirshlers moved to Granville, Ohio, where they settled for the next 30 years. While there, she taught English in local schools and later became associate director of the Licking County (Ohio) Historical Society, and director of the Webb House Museum. She was very active in historic preservation activities, was a founding member of Granville, Ohio Preservation Association, during which time the Village of Granville was designated an historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.

She was a founding member and trustee of the Licking County Archaeology and Landmarks Association, and a board member of the Opera House restoration committee. She was active in bringing educational materials on local architecture to the schools, and a member of many committees and boards related to planned development, zoning, history and education. She loved tutoring English and continued to do this all through her time in Granville. She also participated in many activities at Denison University, where her husband was a professor of art history.

She traveled extensively and often with her husband, and they visited many countries where she maintained her interest in architecture and in other cultures. They lived abroad in Berlin, Germany and in Ottawa, Canada.

Mrs. Hirshler began her interest in Lewiston in 1951, when she visited her soon-to-be family, Drs.. Max and Helene Hirshler, and she visited often until 1989 when her husband retired from Denison University. They then settled permanently in Lewiston, where she was able to continue her interest in historic buildings, restoration, and architecture. She was a trustee of Maine Citizens for Historic Preservation and a board member of the Lewiston Historic Preservation Review Board.

She loved to read, write letters, and keep in touch with many friends and family. She was a member of the friends of the Lewiston Public Library, Androscoggin Historical Society, Greater Androscoggin Humane Society, and many other local and environmental organizations.

Her greatest pride was her daughter, Erica, who became senior curator of American paintings at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

She is survived by her husband of 51 years, of Lewiston;, her daughter, Erica E. Hirshler and her husband, Harold Clark, of Melrose, Mass.; and a sister, Mrs. Zecille N. Gebhardt of Huntington, N.Y.

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