Santa Fe Living Treasures – Elder Stories

Following two years at the University of Oklahoma, Mary taught briefly, then married. In 1931, she returned to school and earned her degree. Eventually, she received an M.A. from Carnegie Tech and later taught at Fordham University.

During a life that involved worldwide travel to countries such as England, Greece, and Turkey, her career as a university professor served as an anchor in various communities. Although she married twice and raised a son, she persisted in focusing on her work. "A husband of mine was always in the background," is how she put it.

Mary taught thousands of people to quilt during her twenty-five years of teaching. Following her "retirement" to Santa Fe in 1960, she organized a textile workshop in connection with the Museum of International Folk Art. There, in the course of fifteen years, she taught over three thousand students quilt making, weaving, stitchery, and design.