Marisa Wieland; was Brazilian vice consul

Marisa Wieland, 83, of Mount Laurel, who served as vice consul of the former Brazilian Consulate in Philadelphia and for many years helped immigrant Brazilians, died Wednesday at Cooper University Hospital following brain hematoma surgery.

With her marriage failing at the start of the 1960s, her daughter Marsia Turner Mason said, Mrs. Wieland decided to go back to work. Mrs. Wieland, who had earned a college degree in Brazil, applied to the Brazilian Consulate in Philadelphia and was hired right away.

"It was a very exciting time in her life," her daughter said. "She liked being a part of all the diplomatic functions."

Mrs. Wieland quickly rose through the ranks to vice consul, a job she held until the late 1960s, when the Philadelphia consulate closed.

When Brazilian diplomats came to Philadelphia, Mrs. Wieland arranged their meetings and visits. She also extended that hospitality to any Brazilian family new to the area, her daughter said, even after the consulate closed.

"We had a parade of people through our home," she said.

Mrs. Wieland once met a Brazilian boy whose family brought him to the United States for leukemia treatment. So that the family wouldn't have to live out of a hotel for the duration of the treatment, she opened up her home to them.

"She was very much, my house is your house," her daughter said.

Mrs. Wieland was born Marisa Maciel in Brazil, the third-oldest of eight children, all of whom learned to speak English fluently, her daughter said.

As a young woman, Mrs. Wieland landed a job at a naval base in the Brazilian city of Recife, and met her future husband, Walter Turner, a musician in the U.S. Navy.

In 1947, the 21-year-old Brazilian moved to the United States and a year or two later married Turner. The couple purchased a rowhouse in Drexel Hill and then moved to Westmont in 1957. They divorced in 1966.

After the consulate closed, Mrs. Wieland worked as a secretary at Brooks Sporting Goods.

In the mid-1970s, Mrs. Wieland met Conrad F. "Ted" Wieland, a thoroughbred-horse breeder. The couple married in 1979 and settled in Mount Laurel. Within six years, Wieland became a quadriplegic, and Mrs. Wieland dedicated herself to his care, her daughter said. He died in 1998.

For more than 20 years, Mrs. Wieland was a devoted member of the First United Methodist Church in Moorestown. She was the first person to volunteer for the partnership between the church and the Salvation Army in 1999, said the church's senior pastor, the Rev. Stephen Donat.

For many years, Mrs. Wieland worked in the intake process for people requesting help in Burlington County. She also loved the kettle campaign, and every Christmas season, she would ring a bell and ask for donations, Donat said.

Mrs. Wieland enjoyed a good party and had a great sense of humor. She wore bright colors no matter the season and was one of the few women Donat knew who could pull off banana-bunches earrings.

"She was kind of flamboyant, in a good way," Donat said.

In addition to her daughter, Mrs. Wieland is survived by a son, Lawrence Turner; two grandchildren; and five brothers. Her first husband died in 2001.

A memorial service was held Saturday.