Julienne Swynny-Prineas
an obituary published by the University of Miami in 2010 as a
mark of respect for the work Julienne had done at that university
an obituary published by the University of Miami in 2010 as a
mark of respect for the work Julienne had done at that university
Dr. Julienne Prineas, a long-standing friend of and collaborator with the University of Minnesota Ethics Programs, died January 30, 2010, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Dr. Prineas was the elder daughter of Mr. Winsleigh Swynny and Gladys (June) Swynny (nee Johns). She is survived by her beloved sister, Yolande Oakley of Malacoota, Australia; a brother, Phillip Swynny of Sydney, Australia; her husband of 49 years, Dr. Ronald Prineas, Professor Emeritus at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and former chair of UM’s Department of Epidemiology and Public Health; and two sons and two daughters: Matthew Prineas of Silver Spring, MD; Anna Catanese of Mechanicsville, VA; John Prineas of Iowa City, Iowa; and Miranda Austin of Atlanta, Georgia.
She is also survived by her loved sister-in-law Eileen Prineas and brothers-in law Dr. John Prineas and Graham Oakley, in Australia, and by her loved daughters-in-law, Katherine Davis and Sarah Prineas (Bing), and loved sons-in-law, Michael Catanese and Walter Austin. Also surviving her are her 7 grandchildren, Benjamin, Andrew and Daniel Catanese; Maud and Theodore Prineas; and Harmon and Vivian Austin; and by her nieces and nephew Claire (MacPhail), Sara (Wurzer), and Peter Prineas; Celeste and Jade Oakley; and grand-nieces and -nephews.
Dr. Prineas started her career as an elementary school teacher in Sydney and Perth, Australia, and Glasgow, Scotland. Later, after her children were in school when the family moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, still caring lovingly for her family, at the age of 36 she returned to further education at the University of Minnesota and obtained BS, BA, and MA degrees and a PhD degree in English Rhetoric. She later taught at Florida International University and established and directed a center for scientific grant writing at the University of Miami. In 1996 she started an antiquarian book dealership and continued her studies in rare books in courses at the University of Indiana in Bloomington and in Seattle.
Her passions were family first and reading and writing. In the final and most debilitating years of her illness, reading and writing became increasingly difficult, and finally impossible. Dr. Prineas suffered from Primary Progressive Aphasia without dementia. Her brave efforts to convey love and support to her family never wavered, however. Dr. Prineas was a warm, nurturing mother and wife of generosity and gentleness and will always be cherished in the memories of her family as they deal with their loss.
Private funeral services were held at Hayworth-Miller Silas Creek Chapel with Rev. Ray Austin officiating. Her family requests that instead of memorials or flowers that donations be made in her name to: The Association for Frontotemporal Dementias.
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The following letter was written by Julienne to Jim Fletcher on 31 April 1978 after she had been invited to attend a reunion of Balmain Teachers College students from the 1956-57 group. She was writing from her home in Wayzata, Minnesota.
Dear Jim
I was delighted to receive your invitation and very impressed with your effort and success in locating me. Unfortunately though, I cannot be present at the reunion. However, I would like you to convey my greetings to the gathering. I have before me the photo of the “Class of '57” and it is pleasant to look at all those familiar faces. I wish I could be with you to hear of their adventures and escapades.
You ask what I have been up to. I taught in and around Sydney, in Perth WA and in Glasgow, Scotland for seven years. I quit teaching to tend to my first two children born in London, UK. Nos 3 & 4 arrived in Melbourne when we had returned to “settle down”. Despite the fact that having 4 children in 5 1/2 years was a sobering experience, the “settling down” bit did not work. Australia at that time could not afford too much money for research in the medical field—my husband's occupation—and we were forced to look elsewhere. Thus, we sold up our house & furniture, assured the children that they would get to see Gilligan's Island where we were going, and came here.
The gamble paid off—everyone is very happy. This is called the state of 10,000 lakes and we live beside a large one —Lake Minnetonka. Minnihaha Creek runs off this lake, for this is also “Hiawatha Land”. In winter time the lake freezes to a depth of about 13-15” and becomes a busy thoroughfare as islanders drive to work and fishermen enthusiasts retreat to their little ice huts which appear like little villages over favourite fishing holes as soon as the lake freezes. The winter is long, but very beautiful. Temperatures that can plunge to 30 degrees F below with a “wind chill factor” as low as 60 degrees zero produce trees coated with ice and lots and lots of sunshine. In summer the place becomes a jungle with humid weather and temperatures to 100 degrees F. We have deer, raccoons, skunks (even a moose last summer), squirrels, chipmunks, geese, eagles, ducks, billions of (harmless) snakes, helicopter-like mosquitoes, zillions of bats (inclined to be rabid), frog plagues, tick plagues, grasshopper plagues, firefly plagues, & so on. As the children have 3 months of summer holidays you can imagine the fun they have.
The schools nearby are excellent. The people welcome new arrivals with an enthusiasm which startled me, and show great curiosity about origins and other cultures. For most people, Australia is a fascinating mystery. The schools celebrate—or rather take note of all the different religious festivities, and teach songs, customs, folk tales, etc., of diverse ethnic groups & cultures. A Midwest rendition of “Laugh Kookaburra, Laugh” is stunning—the 'laugh' is pronounced “laf” (i.e., “a” as in cat). Nevertheless there is great ignorance here about Australia. If anyone is interested in getting children exchanging letters, tapes, photos, etc. then I'm sure it could be arranged. (Especially tapes and photos!)
Enjoy your weekend. And thank you for writing to me.
Regards
Julie.
I was delighted to receive your invitation and very impressed with your effort and success in locating me. Unfortunately though, I cannot be present at the reunion. However, I would like you to convey my greetings to the gathering. I have before me the photo of the “Class of '57” and it is pleasant to look at all those familiar faces. I wish I could be with you to hear of their adventures and escapades.
You ask what I have been up to. I taught in and around Sydney, in Perth WA and in Glasgow, Scotland for seven years. I quit teaching to tend to my first two children born in London, UK. Nos 3 & 4 arrived in Melbourne when we had returned to “settle down”. Despite the fact that having 4 children in 5 1/2 years was a sobering experience, the “settling down” bit did not work. Australia at that time could not afford too much money for research in the medical field—my husband's occupation—and we were forced to look elsewhere. Thus, we sold up our house & furniture, assured the children that they would get to see Gilligan's Island where we were going, and came here.
The gamble paid off—everyone is very happy. This is called the state of 10,000 lakes and we live beside a large one —Lake Minnetonka. Minnihaha Creek runs off this lake, for this is also “Hiawatha Land”. In winter time the lake freezes to a depth of about 13-15” and becomes a busy thoroughfare as islanders drive to work and fishermen enthusiasts retreat to their little ice huts which appear like little villages over favourite fishing holes as soon as the lake freezes. The winter is long, but very beautiful. Temperatures that can plunge to 30 degrees F below with a “wind chill factor” as low as 60 degrees zero produce trees coated with ice and lots and lots of sunshine. In summer the place becomes a jungle with humid weather and temperatures to 100 degrees F. We have deer, raccoons, skunks (even a moose last summer), squirrels, chipmunks, geese, eagles, ducks, billions of (harmless) snakes, helicopter-like mosquitoes, zillions of bats (inclined to be rabid), frog plagues, tick plagues, grasshopper plagues, firefly plagues, & so on. As the children have 3 months of summer holidays you can imagine the fun they have.
The schools nearby are excellent. The people welcome new arrivals with an enthusiasm which startled me, and show great curiosity about origins and other cultures. For most people, Australia is a fascinating mystery. The schools celebrate—or rather take note of all the different religious festivities, and teach songs, customs, folk tales, etc., of diverse ethnic groups & cultures. A Midwest rendition of “Laugh Kookaburra, Laugh” is stunning—the 'laugh' is pronounced “laf” (i.e., “a” as in cat). Nevertheless there is great ignorance here about Australia. If anyone is interested in getting children exchanging letters, tapes, photos, etc. then I'm sure it could be arranged. (Especially tapes and photos!)
Enjoy your weekend. And thank you for writing to me.
Regards
Julie.