Mary Jane Deere Wiman Brinton

1921 - 2010

Mary Jane Deere Wiman Brinton, a selfless humanitarian devoted to her family and to many social causes, died peacefully of cancer at her home in San Francisco on Saturday, in the company of family. She was 88.

Mrs. Brinton was born on December 3, 1921 in Chicago, IL to Charles Deere Wiman and Patricia Southall Wiman. Mrs. Brinton and her sister, Patricia, were the great-great granddaughters of John Deere, who invented the steel plow in 1837. Raised in Moline, IL, Mrs. Brinton attended Bennington College and, in a typical display of her tenacity, she later completed her degree in 1965 at Lone Mountain College. She married William M. Brinton on July 10, 1943; the couple lived in Charlottesville, VA until 1948, when they moved to San Francisco with their first child, William. Their three daughters, Delia, Katherine and Barbra, were born in San Francisco.

Throughout her life, Mrs. Brinton was steadfastly committed to improving both public and private school education. Her first major imprint on the field came in 1966, when she was one of a group of parents who co-founded the Urban School of San Francisco. Recently, she was delighted to find that her primary care physician had graduated from that high school! In 1984, she established the Flanders Fellowship program at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education. Created in honor of Professor Emeritus Ned Flanders, the fellowships are awarded to recruit, prepare, and sustain new teachers who are role models for disadvantaged youth in urban schools. To date, over 350 fellowships have been awarded. In addition, Mrs. Brinton volunteered her time to work with students at New Traditions Alternative Elementary School in San Francisco, hosting a weekly "Wonder Desk", which was intended to foster students' inquisitiveness. Capturing the essence of her work in education, a 1999 article in the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education newsletter wrote of her efforts, "A role model in her own right, [Mary Jane] Brinton is on a mission to revitalize urban education."

Mrs. Brinton was also a tireless advocate for improving health and mental care, particularly for high-need populations. In 2001, she established the Brinton Psychiatric Homeless Project, which provides psychiatric care and mental health services for those homeless persons in San Francisco who suffer from mental illness and have limited or no access to such services. Her gifts to the Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics established the Neighborhood Counseling Program, which provides low-cost, bicultural and bilingual mental health services to those in low-income neighborhoods. Recently, moved by the plight of so many in New Orleans following Katrina and the oil spill, Mrs. Brinton sent her son and his wife to investigate opportunities to assist the community by improving health resources and job training. The result is the Brinton Family Health and Healing Clinic in partnership with Tulane University, which will open in 2011 providing primary care to low-income members of the community as well as hands-on experience for physicians and other health care workers in training.

Mrs. Brinton's commitments to improvements in health care further extended to cancer research. She helped establish a fund in the name of Dr. John Kerner, one of her dearest friends and a champion of cancer research himself. The Kerner Cancer Research and Education Fund at Mt. Zion Hospital has generated great knowledge in cancer and diabetes and in more recent years has developed two effective anti-cancer drugs. Later, Mrs. Brinton honored her mother by seeding the Cancer Genetics program at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) and the Cancer Risk Program. She also funded two endowed chairs at UCSF, including the Kerner Distinguished Chair in Gynecological Oncology. Dr. Kerner noted that "she refused to have her name on the chairs, though I suggested that they be so named. That was typical of her generosity."


Mrs. Brinton saw value in system change as well. She championed public engagement and awareness through her generous support of the League of Women Voters and the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) and, in 2002, CIR honored her with their Donor of the Year award. For 13 years, she worked closely on homeless policy issues with her friend and ally, Sister Bernie of the Religious Witness with the Homeless.

Her devotion to animals was a natural extension of her generous spirit. She adored dogs of all varieties and rescued many over the years, each one loved dearly. Horses, too, were a passion for her. She rode horseback for many years, giving it up only after she had been thrown 32 times, the last in 1967 while riding her daughter Delia's horse bareback in Golden Gate Park. Her love of animals was evident in her giving as well; she would support no research that involved animal testing of any sort.

Mrs. Brinton selflessly gave of her time and resources to many family members, friends and organizations and asked nothing in return. She was an outstanding example of the Greatest Generation and a role model for all of us.

Mrs. Brinton is survived by her children, William W. Brinton, P. Delia Brinton, Katherine D. B. Crawford; eight grandchildren; five great grandchildren; and three devoted nieces and nephews, Demaris L. Brinton, Anna H. Wolfe and Alexander S. Hewitt. She was preceded in death by her husband, William M. Brinton, on July 10 of this year and her daughter, Barbra D. B. Paulson, in 2003.

A service for Mrs. Brinton will be held on Saturday, November 20th, in San Francisco. Please call a family member or 415-931-3389 for the time and location.

Donations may be made in memory of Mrs. Brinton to: California Pacific Medical Center, Hospice by the Bay, or UCSF Memory Clinic.