Miriam Abern Obituary

I still miss you! My dear friend

To Mari's family, and her friends outside of Olivia circles...my deepest sympathies. Mari was one of those people that made this world a better place.

Many have written to echo my words at the Olivia site, which are included below. Her many wonderful character traits were so well known.

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Like all of you, I was immediately shocked and saddened when I found out last week of our great loss.

I met Mari at the aforementioned Lifetime event at the Pantages back in 1996 (followed by that great time at Denny's after the show), and was lucky enough to become close friends with Mari afterwards. For years, Mari and I would email each other several times every day (Mon-Fri), and I can't even count the number of times she came out to CA to detox her mind by walking the beach in Malibu for a week or so.

Throughout Mari's many ups and downs, she never let it effect how she treated others...with warmth, generosity and consideration as one would treat a friend. She got to know all the folks in Malibu who worked at her favorite places (like Ben and Jerry's), and by the time she would go back to Chicago from her retreats in Malibu, she had befriended all the dogs along the miles of beach from her pier-area motel room to way past The Colony...and was always saddened that she had to say good-bye to them before she left.

On a personal level...Mari never forgot my birthday, and got me so many Christmas presents and birthday presents over the years that I can't even remember all of them. I wish I could say I came somewhere close to returning all the acts of kindness...

Mari always thought of all her fellow Olivia folks as family members; your problems became her concerns, and your achievements counter-balanced her struggles at work and and her struggles with her health. Never have I met anyone so concerned with the well-being of others.

It has been an extraordinarily long-time since I last saw Mari...over two years. Mari typically absolutely refused to allow her picture to be taken, ducking away from the camera at any cost. But luckily, on that last day that I saw her, she relented, and allowed a shot of her standing near the top of Runyon Canyon with fellow OO member Gary Kwan. URL for the pic:
romanspictures.com/miscpics/marigary.jpg

Though I typically only saw Mari for brief periods once or twice each year, for concerts and all the walks in Malibu, she was one of the closest friends I've ever had. The distance seemed irrelevant with all the email and all the trips out here to L.A., and it's such a horrible thought knowing that I'll never get to speak to, or see, Mari ever again. Her tireless friendship was more than I deserved, and never will the cherished fond memories of her be far from my mind.

Mari & I were friends from years back!! We first met at Great America. I recently got back in touch with her. I am so saddened by this news!!! My heart goes out to her mom, brother, and family! She will live on in my heart always!

Mary Keane (now Beljaeff)

Mari was a great friend. She was very outgoing, optomistic and just a nice person. May Mari Abern Rest In Peace.

My thoughts and prayers are with you in your time of grief. May your memories bring you comfort.. I had the luck to be touched by Mari's magic, especially when I visited Chicago back in 2001. May God bless her soul.

All my thoughts are with Mari's family and loved ones.
Rest in peace, Mari.
A Only Olivia fellow fan.

For those of you who would like to hear more about Mari from her Olivia friends, go to www.onlyolivia.com and look under the message board for entries about Mari. She certainly touched many lives.

Rest in peace Mari.

So sorry to hear of Mari's passing. She will be missed by all who knew her.

My heart and prayers go out to Mari's family during this time. I had the pleasure to meet Mari in Biloxi, Mississippi, in January 1999. Mari will be missed.

I want to extend my symphathy to Mari's Family. While living in Chicago, I spent many weekends with her and she even flew on one of my passes to Los Angeles, for us all to see Olivia in a concert. Working for American Airlines, I know that she is up in the sky with me when I am there looking out for all of us, and know that she brought smiles and laughter to all she touched. Thank you for letting her share her life with us.

Mari is sparkling Stardust and beautiful Light... dancing again through the Universe....

Our deepest sympathy to friends and family....

An Only Olivia friend

I'm so sorry for your loss, my deepest sympathy.
Pat Kubiak

My Heart and parayers go out to Mari and her family. I never knew her but I did read her fun and witty posts on the Only Olivia message board. She is in a far better place now. May She Rest In Peace. She will be missed but not forgotten.

So sorry for your loss, my prayers go out to Mari family and friends.
Mary (from ONJ message board)

Mari,

My heart aches at your sudden passing.

It was my pleasure to have known you.

"You never lose the ones you love when you loved the ones you lost"

Alan Cofer

Mari is someone i exchanged emails with , a true down to earth loyal ONJ fan & a great person who will be missed.

so very sorry for your loss.

Mari was one of a kind. Her OO family will miss her wit and dedication.

Mari - we valued your friendship from afar, you will be sadly missed

Dear Mari,

I never really knew you, but your posts always brought a smile to my face. You were loved by so many people.

R.I.P.

Very sad to hear this. I knew Mari through the Only Olivia fanclub and will really miss having her around.

To all those close to her, my sincerest best wishes in this difficult time.

TO the Abern Family:

Mari will be deeply missed.
Sorry for your loss

I am so sorry for the loss of a good caring friend full of sass and wit. She will be missed!

Mari you will be missed! My thoughts and prayers are with your family at this difficult time!

Dear, dear Mari, I will you miss so much. You and I have had some epic adventures together. I have not only lost a best friend but a big sister as well. I will miss you terribly.

To your loving family, please accept my deepest sympathies and condolences. Mari was a truly unique and wonderful person to have known and befriended.

Mari was one of kind. Honest, giving and always there for you. I will miss her and her generous heart and attitude. God Bless.

Mari was a great person and will be sadly missed. I met her though Olivia. She left this world way too soon. My thoughts and prayers are with her family.

Dear Mrs. Abern:
Billie and I extend our condolences to you on the loss of dear Mari. Not only was she a most kind and genuine person, but also she was very helpful to taxpayers in solving complicated tax problems. She made significant contributions to the operation of the Assessor's C of E Department over the years. She will be missed by all of us.

Sincerely, Billie and Skip Hauser

With sympathy for your loss, I wanted to extend 'love & light' to your family as part of Mari's online friendships. Honoring a fun, smart girl who shared her wit, humour and laughs with me often. I know I will miss her very much.

To the lovely Abern family--Mari was well-loved and liked by many, many friends and will be missed terribly by so many. Bless you all in this rough time. Larry Barber, Dallas

As I sit here this morning writing this, I still can't believe that my friend is gone. My heart goes out to Mari's entire family, I'm so sorry for your loss. She was a wonderful friend to me, and will never be forgotten. May you rest in peace Mari.

So sorry to hear about Mariam, My thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time.She will be missed.

My thoughts and prayers are with you in your time of grief. May your memories bring you comfort.

Mar-
I will miss you, your sense of humor, your love of adventure and your love of life. Things will never be the same without you.
Steve

I still can not believe the news. Mari will surely be missed. She was always there to help anyone who needed it. She had a heart of gold and was a true friend. She was truly a geniune good and nice person. We will all miss her greatly. My sincere condolences to her family.

Dear Mrs. Abern and family,

Please accept my sympathy on the loss of Mari. She will be missed.

Sincerely,