Professor Daniel graduated from Madison East High School and the University of Wisconsin (B.S. degree in Secondary Education with major in Spanish [1958], M.A. in Spanish [1959], Ph.D. in Portuguese [1965]; member of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi). She taught elementary (1959-1960) and middle school (1960-1961) Spanish in Florida public schools, created the Portuguese undergraduate program at the University of Iowa (where she taught from 1965-1977), and eventually returned to her home department at the University of Wisconsin, where she taught Portuguese until her retirement in 1998. Her tenure at the UW also included 20 years (1978-1998) as Co-Editor of the Luso-Brazilian Review, a journal published by the UW Press.
We will miss her deeply and remember her contagious passion for Luso-Brazilian studies, her vitality, energy in the classroom, and generous soul, which will continue to inspire all who had the privilege of knowing Professor Emerita Mary Lou Daniel.