Obituary

Louise Robin Polan
(January 5, 1947 - March 20, 2018)

Louise Robin Dubitsky Polan, philanthropist, art collector, and Ohio State Ph.D. candidate, died at home with her family on Tuesday, March 20, 2018 in Proctorville, OH. She was 71.

Smart, fierce and beautiful, Louise had a deep passion for learning, teaching and adventure.  

Louise retired from a successful 24 year career as Chief Curator at the Huntington Museum of Art in 1999 in order to pursue her dream of earning a Ph.D. in Art History. Louise completed all but her dissertation prior to her death. During her time as curator of the Huntington Museum of Art she shared her knowledge and passion with the community through lectures, tours and by bringing new and thought-provoking styles of art to the Huntington community. Still on display today, visitors can enjoy the Herman Dean Firearms Gallery, the Touma Near Eastern Gallery, and the Glass Gallery. In addition, Louise worked with the Polan family to commission a unique glass sculpture by artist Dale Chihuly in honor of the memory of Lake Polan Jr. and Dorothy Lewis Polan, which sits in the Museum’s C. Fred Edwards Conservatory.

Prior to her career at Huntington Museum of Art Louise was employed by the Museum School of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, where she worked while pursuing a Master of Fine Arts at Tufts University. Louise completed her MFA at The Ohio University in 1979. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from Boston University where she majored in French. She also studied at the Universite de Poitiers in France.

In addition to serving on  the board of directors of Marshall University’s Society of Yeager Scholars Louise was a popular Yeager Scholar Professor at Marshall University, where she co-taught an interdisciplinary history course from the arts perspective. Following her retirement, she continued to contribute to the Huntington arts community through her work on the Huntington Museum Board of Directors.  Mrs. Polan believed that every child should have access to art and regularly donated supplies to local schools.

Growing up in Fall River, Massachusetts, Louise was perhaps a bit surprised to find herself building a life with her new husband, Lake Polan III, in slow-paced Proctorville, OH. During their courtship they had planned to remain in New England until Lake tricked her into moving to his hometown.  She allowed him to move her, and actually to marry her, primarily because he gave her her first dog.  However, Louise, who once skipped a family wedding to attend Woodstock—yes, the original—was always on the lookout for a good adventure, and she embraced the juxtaposition of quiet times with exotic travels with her husband and children. She was an avid gardener and collector of exotic plants, especially orchids  and begonias. While she explored nearly every continent, she was perhaps most content eating a lobster roll and a blueberry ice cream on an annual vacation to Deer Isle, Maine. She made sure that her family appreciated both the allure of the unknown and the simple pleasures of a quiet family night at home by a fire.

In December Mrs. Polan wrote the following to her family:

“Dear all: Sometimes we take the small things and ignore the wonder of it all. You get sick and they tell you to enjoy the sights, smells and colors of the world. You stare out the car window and realize that you have been doing that mostly for years… As silly as this may sound, [you’ve] brought tears to my eyes because what I have realized and learned is that the most important item in life is being surrounded by people who care for and champion you.”

Louise is survived by her husband Lake Polan III of Proctorville , OH; her daughter Rebecca Polan of Charlottesville, Virginia; her son Lake C. Polan of New Orleans, Louisiana (Jared Davidson); her mother, Bernice Dubitsky of Fall River, Massachusetts; and her brother, Stanley Dubitsky of Bedford Massachusetts.  She was predeceased by her father Carlton Dubitsky. A memorial service in Louise’s honor will be held 3:30 pm, Sunday, March 25, 2018 at  B’Nai Shalom Congregation.