Leona Trinin – Obituary
Leona Ruth Greenberg Bresler Trinin of Portland, Maine, died, surrounded by loving family and a dear friend, on October 4, 2025, at age 98. She was born on November 6, 1926, in Bridgeport, CT, to Dr. Abraham David Greenberg, a dentist, and Kate Cohn Greenberg. Leona was educated in Bridgeport public schools. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Special Education at Southern Connecticut State College and her Master’s Degree in Experiential Education at Fairfield University.
Leona's first career was as a portrait photographer with a studio in Bridgeport. From 1974 until 1994 Leona was a special education teacher and vocational coach in the Westport, CT, public schools. She was selected for the Fulbright Teacher Exchange program, serving in the Bristol, England, school system in the 1989-1990 school year. A Fellow of the Connecticut Writing Project, she had several pieces published in the New York Times. In 2017 Leona was invited to present a White Paper as a Macular Degeneration Patient Advocate at the Angiogenesis Foundation in Cambridge, MA.
Leona practiced yoga, was a Certified Open Water SCUBA diver, and an accomplished quilter. As a teenager, Leona took flying lessons. She was a sailor and lived on a houseboat for a year. She was an avid reader and member of several book clubs. Leona was a dancer who cofounded The Confetti Dance Theatre which brought dance to children in public schools, and for which she created and crafted the costumes. She loved traveling in the U.S. and abroad, and in her 50s took a solo cross-country camping trip. She was a political organizer for Democratic candidates and an activist for civil rights and for peace.
Leona is survived by her children: Sharon Bresler, Michael (Fishel) Bresler and Elianna Bresler, Diane Nili Bresler, Ellen Bresler, Stephen Wabunoha, and grandson Arthur Wabunoha. She was predeceased by her parents, her brother William, her former husband Joseph Bresler, her grandson Aaron, and her son-in-law Larry Murinson.
Leona was a regular contributor to the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland, The Good Shepherd Food Bank, and two public broadcasting systems: WNYC and Maine Public Broadcasting. She believed we need to protect the animals with whom we share the earth. She believed that all people on the planet are entitled to food security. And she believed that democracy depends on free and independent journalism.
Burial will be amongst close friends and family at the Cedar Brook Burial Ground in Limington.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Poitras Funeral Homes, www.mainefuneral.com