By Brendan Griggs

Marti Wilson, who died at the age of 92 in Tucson Arizona on 23 February, was a close friend of the Trust and will be greatly missed by all of us in Cambridge who knew her. 

Marti was born and raised in New Richland, Minnesota. Trained as a therapist at the Adler Institute of Chicago, she married Howard Wilson, a distinguished scholar of comparative religions, with whom she travelled the world, visiting over 50 countries. They were married for 44 years, settling for a while in Cambridge, England where Howard was a visiting scholar.  

After Howard’s death in 1998, Marti remained in Cambridge to arrange and digitise his exceptional archive of over 1,500 slides of scriptures, caves, temples and royal palaces, focusing on the role of religious art in Theraveda Buddhism in Sri Lanka.  The archive includes images of all the major archaeological sites and artefacts, not only from Sri Lanka but also from major museums around the world. As well as completing Howard’s work, Marti also found it a home: the Ancient India and Iran Trust, where it is now available through the Cambridge University Digital Library (CUDL): https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/PH-AIIT-HWA/1

Marti was a charming person and delightful company. It was always a pleasure to see her, whether cycling through Cambridge on her bicycle or chatting and laughing over refreshments at the Trust, where she was a frequent and faithful visitor. Always immaculately dressed and coiffed, she was an accomplished musician and enjoyed an occasional sing-song (Let it Snow was a Christmas favourite). Marti was also proud of her Norwegian heritage and on more than one occasion we at the Trust were the grateful recipients of her delicious home-made Norwegian ‘bundt’ cake, lavishly garnished with cream or ice-cream (and sometimes both!).