In Memory of
Marcus J. Wiesner
September 13, 2015
Obituary
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Marcus (Mark) J. Wiesner,
of Montclair, N.J., a clinical psychologist and noted
Hitler scholar and, in his youth, an award-winning
Staten Island Advance reporter and star athlete on
football teams at New Dorp High School and Wagner
College, died Sunday at his daughter's home in West
Orange, N.J. He was 82 years old.
The Rosebank native won All-City honors in his senior
year at New Dorp when the squad, coached by the
legendary Sal Somma, was the only undefeated Public
School Athletic League team. As a junior, he played on
the first New Dorp team to defeat its longtime rival,
Curtis High School. He played guard in high school and
tackle in college.
At the time of his induction into the Wagner College
Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006, it was recalled that his
college coach, Jim Lee Howell, later head coach of the
New York Giants, was quoted in the Advance as saying:
"Mark could play on any team in the country." In an era
when players played both offense and defense, Mr.
Wiesner at one time held the record for most consecutive
minutes played – 480. He was co-captain of the squad in
1953, his senior year, and won the Robb Memorial trophy,
awarded at homecoming, as most valuable player. In 2005,
he was inducted into the New Dorp High School Hall of
Fame.
As a reporter for the Advance, he, with his colleague,
Michael Azzara, received the Citizens Budget Commission
award for outstanding journalism for their series on
issues connected to the borough's development.
Mr. Wiesner left the Advance to join the administration
of Mayor John V. Lindsay, serving as public relations
director and an assistant commissioner of the Department
of Licenses, then the Department of Consumer Affairs,
and lastly as executive assistant in the Office of
Staten Island Development for Mayor Lindsay.
He then became a speech writer for the Port Authority of
New York and New Jersey, where he also served as
director of community relations and was credited with
being the initiator of a multimillion-dollar school
soundproofing program that sought to alleviate the
distractions of airport noise at P.A. airports. He was
honored for his achievements by the Queens borough
president and school districts near Kennedy
International Airport.
Mr. Wiesner also arranged for "Black Wings" -- the
National Smithsonian Museum exhibit honoring
African-American contributions to U.S. aviation history
-- to visit the Newark Museum under the auspices of the
Port Authority.
Making a career change in mid-life, the Wagner College
graduate began his study of psychology, receiving his
master's degree from New York University and his Ph.D.
from Saybrook Graduate School, San Francisco. For more
than a decade, he was a clinical psychologist at
Northern State Prison in N.J., serving inmates living
with mental illness. He had maintained a private
practice in Montclair since becoming licensed as a
clinical psychologist in 1992.
Mr. Wiesner, who lost family members at the Auschwitz
concentration camp in Poland during the Holocaust,
became a noted Hitler scholar. He published several
scholarly works, most notably a groundbreaking study of
Adolf Hitler, "Destruction Artist: An Interpretive Study
of Adolph Hitler," and an in-depth psychological study
on Albert Speer, Hitler's chief architect during World
War II. He also published articles on the work of
psychologist Karen Horney.
An avid reader, essayist and poet, he contributed many
short stories and poems to literary magazines, and his
novel, "The Murder Artist," was awarded honorary mention
by Writer's Digest Magazine in 2010. Another novel, "The
Heifer Chronicles," was published under the pen name,
Marc Joseph.
During his time on the Island, he was an executive in
the New York State Liberal Party. He was a dogged
campaigner for social justice and human rights, and his
letters to the editor in behalf of his convictions
appeared in The New York Times and his hometown paper,
the Montclair Times.
His wife, the former Lorraine Murphy, died in 1995.
Surviving are his daughter, Annabel Wiesner Tirado; his
son, Neal; his life partner, the Reverend Terry Troia,
and his godson, Chakthip Phongdapki.
"I am profoundly grateful for the 20 years we shared.
Mark was an extraordinary human being, a husband and
father who loved without measure, a talented novelist
and poet, an expert clinician, a dedicated scholar
absorbed by the quest to understand and conquer evil, a
passionate human rights activist. He was known as the "Ironman"
for his extraordinary athletic prowess on the football
field. But his strength was deeper and wider than the
limits of his body and we carry that strength with us,
as we go on," Rev. Troia said.
There will be a memorial service Friday at 3 p.m. at the
Joan and Alan Bernikow Jewish Community Center, Sea
View. Arrangements were handled by the Harmon Home for
Funerals, West Brighton.
By Staten Island Advance
on September 14, 2015 at 5:20 PM, updated September 14,
2015 at 10:30 PM
