Coffin, III, Philip M.

English

University of Maine, School of Law: Digital Commons

Maine Law Review Volume 49 Number 2 Article 3 June 1997 A Celebration of the Life of Professor Merle Loper Philip M. Coffin, III University of Maine School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.mainelaw.maine.edu/mlr Recommended Citation Philip M. Coffin, III, A Celebration of the Life of Professor Merle Loper, 49 Me. L. Rev. 269 (1997). Available at: https://digitalcommons.mainelaw.maine.edu/mlr/vol49/iss2/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at University of Maine School of Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Maine Law Review by an authorized editor of University of Maine School of Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact mdecrow@maine.edu. TRIBUTE-MERLE W. LOPERA CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE OFPROFESSOR MERLE LOPERPhilip M. Coffin 111*We are gathered here today in memory of Professor Merle Loper.I like to think of this gathering, however, not as a memorial service,but as a celebration. A celebration of the life of Professor MerleLoper and the impact he had on the many students he taught overthe years at the University of Maine School of Law. And, perhaps,as a chance to recognize and appreciate the affection we had for himand he had for us, his students.I first met Merle Loper in first-year property class in September1978, when I arrived at the University of Maine School of Law freshout of college and enthusiastic to begin my study of law. Prior tocoming to law school, I had read Scott Throw's book One L on hisfirst year at Harvard Law School and seen the television programThe Paper Chase. I recall expecting all my first-year professors to bearrogant, frightening individuals who would question us sadisticallyutilizing the Socratic method. Fortunately, this did not prove to bethe case.As Professor David Gregory pointed out in his eulogy earlier thisyear, Merle Loper was not a stereotypical first-year law professorwho challenged or humiliated students with blistering questionsabout the cases we were assigned to study. Instead, Merle's stylewas more refined and more respectful. Merle possessed an under-stated brilliance and quiet wisdom. He challenged first-year stu-dents to appreciate and explore the subtleties of the law of property,but he did so in an even, gentle tone, often with references to poetryand with a large dose of his dry sense of humor. I will be forevergrateful to Merle Loper for the respect he gave each of us studentsand for his self-deprecating style.I would like to tell you a couple of stories about my relationshipwith Merle that I think demonstrate just how unique he was as anindividual.Early in the first semester of property class, which was usually inthe late afternoon, I fell asleep in Merle's class. Admittedly, fallingasleep in class is bad enough, but to make matters worse, my seatwas dead center in the first row of the classroom directly in front ofthe lectern on which Merle placed his notes. I know at least some ofyou have nodded off in a lecture, and as we all know, when we wakeup, we hope no one will have noticed our momentary lapse of atten-tion. If one is going to take a nap in class, one needs to be discrete.* Member, Lambert, Coffin, Rudman & Hochman; B.A., 1978; J.D., 1981,University of Maine.1997]MAINE LAW REVIEWMy nap, however, was readily apparent to Merle. He couldn'thelp but see my head fall forward and strike the top of the desk.This, of course, occurred in the middle of a particularly importantdiscussion on the law of nuisance.Merle never said anything to me during class about my nap, butafter class was over, when I woke up, Merle asked me to stop by hisoffice and see him. I assumed that Merle was going to chastise mefor falling asleep in his class. Frankly, I would not have blamed himfor doing so; it was not particularly politic of me. When I arrived inMerle's office, he did not to my surprise admonish me to stay awakein his class. Instead, he wanted to know what he could do as ateacher to ensure that I would remain awake in his class. He actu-ally apologized for being so sonorous.Merle then took this opportunity to get to know me. He askedme where I grew up, how I was enjoying law school, what I liked todo outside of school, and so on. As a result of that conversation,and many subsequent ones I had with him, I began to appreciateMerle Loper as a man who was genuinely interested in the legalprofession, teaching, and his students. As I came to know Merleeven better over the course of the year, his humaneness, his interestin and dedication to his family, his nurturing style, and his tremen-dous work ethic really impressed me.A week or so after my initial one-on-one encounter with Merle inhis office, he asked me to come by his office again. He had appar-ently noticed that I had stayed awake in his class for the previoustwo or three lectures. When I arrived in his office, he asked me,with a wry smile, whether his classroom delivery or lecture style hadimproved. I told him, of course, that it had indeed; at the time I wasstill worried about my early gaff in class and did not want to offendhim. Merle then asked me if I was busy that evening, and if not,whether I could help him carry a new woodstove he had purchasedinto his house in Yarmouth. He offered to drive me to and from hishouse in Yarmouth and serve me dinner in exchange for my assist-ance. It was an offer I obviously could not refuse to accept. I feltthat I owed him at least that much, after having fallen asleep in hisclass, and at that time I would have accepted nearly any offer for afree meal-anything was preferable to another night of my room-mate's fried spam dinner. So, that evening I went home with Merleafter school and helped him lug a new cast iron stove into hiskitchen and install it.Dinner was great. I don't remember what we ate, but I do recallthe food was better than anything I either could have cooked orafforded.That was also the night I met Jean Loper, Merle's wife, and Kel-ley, his daughter. Kelley was quite young at the time. She seemedvery bright and precocious and Merle obviously loved her very[Vol. 49:267TRIBUTE-MERLE W. LOPERmuch. I was completely charmed by the Loper family and theymade me feel very much at home.That night turned out to be the beginning of a strong friendshipwith Merle that developed over the course of my law school experi-ence. During my three years at the Law School, I had dinner withthe Lopers on many occasions and even stayed overnight at theirhouse several times. Often, I would go to Yarmouth to help Merlewith a project he was working on around the house, we would havedinner, and then I would study for my next day's classes, whileMerle prepared for his next day's lectures. Before spending thenight at Merle's house, I thought that most law school professorsknew their subjects cold, didn't need to engage in much preparation,and probably led a pretty relaxed lifestyle. Merle proved to me justhow wrong I was. I was amazed at the time he spent preparing forhis next day's lecture, rereading cases he had undoubtedly readmany times before, reviewing notes on the subject matter to be dis-cussed, and reading relevant articles from scholarly journals. It wasnot unusual on the nights that I stayed at the Lopers' house forMerle to be up until one in the morning before retiring to bed. Onthose nights, we would labor silently at opposite ends of the kitchentable-me over my cases for the next day's class and Merle over hisnotes for the next day's lecture. Usually, before finally going to bed,Merle would suggest that we have a nightcap. I enjoyed those mo-ments, not just because the nightcap helped me go to sleep, but be-cause it gave us an opportunity to discuss various issues, whichusually turned out to be art, poetry, and politics. Merle was verycurious about the world and my views on it and enjoyed tremen-dously sharing with me his love of poetry. As a first-year student, Iwas flattered by Merle's respect for my thoughts and I'm sure hisinterest in me allowed me to experience law school in a broader waythan I would have without his support.I also enjoyed my stays at Merle Loper's house because he pro-vided me with an opportunity to observe his relationships with Jeanand Kelley. Now with three children of my own, I appreciate evenmore the way in which Merle interacted with his wife and daughter.As in the classroom, Merle was always respectful of the views ofothers and gave everyone a chance to participate in conversations,while also encouraging Jean, and especially Kelley, to share with metheir views on various topics. It seemed to me then, and seems evenclearer to me now, Merle had a real appreciation for what was im-portant in life. He understood the value of hard work, the need torespect and learn from others, and the importance of family andfriends.I would like to tell you one other short story about Merle Loperthat I think demonstrates his sense of humor and good-natured per-sonality. This story begins with the infamous Christmas pageant,1997]MAINE LAW REVIEWwhich I believe is still held every year at the Law School. As youknow, each class puts on a skit during the Christmas pageant inwhich they poke fun at various members of the law school faculty.The student-actors do their best to mimic the dressing style of theprofessors and to portray and exaggerate their peculiar mannerisms.It was the responsibility of our first-year class to mock our first se-mester professors. I was given the role of playing Merle Loper,which I did without any great fanfare. I am not an actor and myportrayal of Merle was only adequate at best. Nevertheless, Merleappeared to genuinely enjoy our performance and those of the sec-ond- and third-year students.After the Christmas pageant was over and we had completed ourexams in January, there was a period when the tension, especiallyfor first-year students, was quite high while everyone waited for firstsemester grades to come out. When I was a student, the Christmaspageant was held just before we went home for a short Christmasbreak, shortly after which we then returned to school to take ourfinal exams, and then began second semester. It was during thistime that Merle Loper showed me and our class again how much hecared about our well being and what a good sense of humor he had.I think it was the first or second week after we had returned fromschool. We all came into class and sat down and waited for Merle toarrive. Our class again was scheduled for late in the afternoon, sowe were all somewhat lethargic, when Merle walked in through thedoor at the base of the classroom. The class immediately broke outin laughter. Merle had decided to come to class dressed as me.Somehow, he had convinced my roommate to let him into our apart-ment and he borrowed some of my clothes. In particular, I was fondat that time of a wool vest from L.L. Bean that was quite distinctivefor its ratty but authentic Bean's look. Merle borrowed that, as wellas one of my shirts, a pair of my tattered blue jeans, and an old setof my glasses. In addition, he parted his hair in the middle, like I didat the time. All in all, he did an excellent job portraying me. Better,in fact, than I had done portraying him in the Christmas pageant.Most important, Merle accomplished his goal: he broke some of thetension that overshadowed our class.Merle's willingness to try something unusual and to engage ingood-natured humor was one of his greatest strengths. I know thatour class truly appreciated his insightful mind, his gentle spirit, hisquiet humor, his respectfulness of others and their opinions, and hisself-deprecating style. Those are, in my opinion, the attributes of agreat teacher and a true friend. Merle Loper will be sorely missedby his friends, family and colleagues, and his former students. Moreimportant perhaps, future students at the Law School will miss theopportunity to learn from and get to know this gentle man.[Vol. 49:267

A Celebration of the Life of Professor Merle Loper

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A Celebration of the Life of Professor Merle Loper

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