Mary Linn Wernet

Mary Linn Wernet, Associate Professor and University Archivist of the Cammie G. Henry Research Center in Watson Memorial Library and Records Officer at Northwestern State University, passed away peacefully in her sleep at home on January 31, 2022. Mary Linn had overseen the Cammie G. Henry Research Center in Watson Memorial Library since 1988. Prior to joining Northwestern State’s faculty, she was an appraisal archivist with the Louisiana State Archives and an oil and gas title abstractor with Caddo Abstract and Title Company in Shreveport. Mary Linn held a Master’s in History with a concentration in Archives from Northwestern State, a Bachelor’s in History and Political Science from Ball State University and an associate degree in liberal arts from Vincennes University Junior College. She had recently successfully completed the Society of American Archivists Digital Curation: Fundamentals and Sustainability course. She authored several articles and book reviews primarily on Louisiana topics in Louisiana History, North Louisiana History, Louisiana Library Association Bulletin, Southwestern Archivist, and Minerva Journal of Women and War. She was a project director of two Louisiana-related grants and a participant in more than a dozen grants. In 2014 Mary Linn received the Elizabeth McLundie Bolton Award from the Louisiana Association of Museums. The award recognizes an individual outside of the museum profession for their extraordinary achievement and service as well as outstanding support of Louisiana museums. She served as a committee member and officer of several historical and archival associations. She served as president of the North Louisiana Historical Association, was a member of the Louisiana Historical Association’s Archives and Records Committee, and a member of the Louisiana Archive Training Collaborative. She is secretary of the North Louisiana Historical Association and a member of the Louisiana Historical Association board. She provided hundreds of presentations and presented many exhibitions highlighting the collections of the Cammie G. Henry Research Center. Her last exhibit was “50 Years of Collecting at the NSU Libraries Cammie Henry Research Center – Featuring Artifacts of Interest,” part of Watson Library’s 50th anniversary celebrations. Mary Linn took pride in her education, work, family and friends, and most of all her son Zach. Her legacy lives on through all of these things. She is preceded in death by her parents, Martha and Norman Wernet II and her sister, Marcia Barnes. She is survived by her son, Zach Bandaries; her brother and sister-in-law, Lockwood and Delores Wernet; her brother and sister-in law, Norman Wernet III and Betty Ann Wernet; and her nephews, Joe Wernet and David Wernet. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made to the Trinity Episcopal Church or the Cammie G. Henry Research Center, Northwestern State University Libraries. Services were held on Saturday, February 5, 2022, at Trinity Episcopal Church in Natchitoches, Louisiana.