MARY-JO ARN

ARN, Mary-Jo Age 82, of Dorchester Center, passed away on December 14, having been struck by a car while walking home from her local library. Mary-Jo was born in Youngstown, Ohio, daughter of the late William B. and Martha (Sander) Arn. Reared and educated in Columbiana, Ohio, Mary-Jo attended State University of New York at Binghamton, where she earned a PhD in Old and Middle English Language and Literature in 1977. She was a tenured professor at the University of Groningen in The Netherlands and at Bloomsburg University, and held visiting positions as a Fellow at the Netherlands Institute of Advanced Studies, as well as at the University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers University, and Harvard University, where at different periods she was both a Visiting Scholar and a Visiting Fellow. She also served for ten years as associate editor and book review manager at the Medieval Academy of America. After her retirement, she continued to work as an independent scholar and author. She authored several books and dozens of articles, essays, and book reviews, and was renowned as the foremost expert on Charles d'Orleans, a French noble and poet who spent forty years in captivity in England in the fifteenth century, producing acclaimed editions of both his English and French poetry. Her work contributed to a broader understanding and appreciation of medieval literature, a field to which she was passionately devoted. Mary-Jo was a valiant warrior - resilient and humorous - in her efforts toward full recovery as a stroke survivor. Her legacy will be the lasting impact on her family, friends and neighbors, and the academic community with her rigor, wit, gratitude, and persistence. She was predeceased by her devoted husband, Ken Heinrich; her parents; and her siblings, Virginia (Jinnee) Arn and William D. Arn. She is survived by her nephews, Ari Larissa Heinrich of Acton, Australia, Will Arn of Columbus, Ohio, Jonathan Arn of Clearwater, Florida, Peter Arn of Roxbury, Connecticut, and Jeremiah Arn of Columbus, Ohio; and her cousins, Zita Arn of Centralia, Washington, and Stephen Arn of Washington, D.C. Of note are neighbors who went above and beyond to care for Mary-Jo like their own family: Mark Wong and Steve Wilkins. All are welcome at a Celebration of Mary-Jo's Life, to be held at noon on January 18, 2025 at All Saints Episcopal parish, 209 Ashmont St., Dorchester. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Derek Pearsall Travel and Research Fund, a fund operated by the International Piers Plowman Society in order to "provide financial aid to students and scholars traveling to conferences on, or conducting archival research related to, Piers Plowman." Please send checks, written to the International Piers Plowman Society to Liz Schirmer, 1147 N Alameda Blvd., Las Cruces, NM 88005 USA (U.S. checks only), marked "Derek Pearsall Fund, in memory of Mary-Jo Arn." Donations can also be made through Paypal via the following link: https://piersplowman.org/pearsall-fund/ Cremation by St. Michael Crematory in cooperation with Wm. Spencer Funeral Home, BOSTON, MA.

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