With great sadness, I received the news that my dear friend and mentor Marianne Küller passed away, but I remember her with warmth and fond memories. I always said that I had the good luck to meet good people during my doctoral stay in Lund, Sweden. In this, I include Rikard Küller, my thesis supervisor, Thorbjörn Laike the co-supervisor, Jan Janssen, Maria Nilsson, Lisa Tucker, and so many fellows that I knew in those years from 1993 to 2001. However, above all of them was Marianne Küller, who was introduced to me as the secretary of the Environmental Psychology Unit. With a background in Sociology, she had abilities for details and great social skills and it did not take me long to realize that she was in charge of everything in that place of construction of knowledge in environmental psychology, from the everyday details to the final thesis check. She was Rikard’s companion and ally in all dimensions of his life.

We built a special friendship that lasted until she left us this November 27. Marianne was an intelligent and wise woman, she always had the right word to make one regain calm and do things well. She was a kind hostess, making you feel comfortable and have a nice time. In fact, one had pleasant moments with her everywhere, from the bus to her place. She was always attentive that we are all well, perhaps because she was a good mother, and she extended that protective bond to all of us who shared the daily work. I must also say that Marianne had infinite patience, with Rikard, and with us doctoral students.

She had an intelligent sense of humour; we both knew that we were going to laugh a lot every time I stayed at her home when I returned to Sweden several times after my PhD.

I have one very special memory – on my first stay in Lund in 1993 my son got sick and when I came back from the hospital, I found a Christmas star on the window with a note from Marianne saying that this stjärna was going to light up my little boy’s days. I still have that star and this year it will shine brighter than ever, in her honour, in her memory.

Text by Graciela Tonello (Universidad Nacional de Tucumán-CONICET, Argentina).

Photos of Marianne Küller.

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