Merle H. Mishel

1939 - 2020

Merle H. (Steinmetz) Mishel, PhD, RN, FAAN daughter of Jacob and Sarah Silverberg Steinmetz passed away Saturday, April 25, 2020 in Bloomfield, CT. Merle was born in 1939 in Boston, MA and grew up in Newton, MA. She completed the BS degree in Nursing at Boston University and her MS degree in Nursing at UCLA. Merle then began teaching nursing at California State University LA, during which time she completed the PhD in Psychology (Social Psychology) at Claremont Graduate University. Her dissertation, The Perceived Ambiguity in Illness Scale, was the basis for the Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale (MUIC). The MUIC continues to be used world-wide by academic and clinical researchers and has been translated into countless languages. After spending several years teaching psychiatric nursing and serving as Division Head for the Mental Health Nursing Division at the University of Arizona, Merle joined the faculty in the School of Nursing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 1994 she was awarded the Kenan Distinguished Professorship, which she held for over twenty years. Merle lead over fifteen federally funded grants, including grants funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research and the National Cancer Institute. She also led a pre-doctoral and post-doctoral fellowship program in preventing and managing chronic illness for more than ten years. Merle was inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and received the Research Merit Award Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research. She was a visiting scholar at many institutions throughout North America and has presented more than eighty invited addresses at schools of nursing in the US and around the world. Merle was an avid traveler, having traveled throughout the world and to many exotic places. Merle leaves behind her nephew Jay Steinmetz and his two sons, Samuel and Spencer of Baltimore, MD, her niece Jennifer Steinmetz and her two children, Anaka and Scott of Philadelphia, PA, and her sister-in-law and often travel companion, Marilyn Steinmetz of West Hartford, CT. Merle was predeceased by her parents, her brother Harvey Steinmetz, and her nephew Steven Steinmetz. The family wants to thank Caleb Hitchcock Nursing Home for their fine care along with Elder Choice for their excellent care givers. Funeral services will be private. Burial will be private. There are no calling hours. Service of comfort provided by the Paul A. Shaker Funeral Home, 764 Farmington Ave., New Britain, CT. Donations in memory of Merle may be made to The Jewish Community Foundations of Greater Hartford, "Fund for Social Justice", 333 Bloomfield Ave., West Hartford, CT 06117 or to your local Humane Society, foodbank, or charity of your choice. To extend condolences to the Mishel family or to share a memory of Merle, please visit SHAKERFUNERLHOME.COM