Mary Field Belenky, resident of Kendal at Hanover, NH, died peacefully after months of declining health on July 10, 2020 at the age of 87. Her husband, Bob, was with her.
Mary was born on June 22, 1933 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the middle of three sisters. Her siblings predeceased her. Mary loved education. She attended the Park School in Buffalo, New York; Antioch College, the University of Chicago, where she and Bob met — they were married in 1957; finally Harvard University where she received her Ph. D. In 1977.
Mary and Bob first settled in the Boston area. They raised two children, Alice and Michael.
In 1970 the family moved to Vermont. Mary taught psychology and education at Goddard College.
When the children were early teenagers, she went on to pursue her doctorate at Harvard commuting between Vermont and Massachusetts.
Mary went on to write about women’s moral and intellectual development. Most notable, co-authored by three colleagues, was Women’s Ways of Knowing. Mary loved nature. She gardened and fed the birds, especially hummingbirds. She rode her mare, Stormy, over many back trails. In her later years she loved to discover remote nooks for picnics. During her last weeks of life bird songs played continuously on her bedside I-pad.
The two owned dogs, five in their lives together. Milly, their current canine, grieves her loss as do we all.
Mary is survived by daughter Alice and husband, Ted Armen and sons Max, Oliver and Simon. And by her son, Michael, his wife, Uli, and their daughters, Sofia and Ella.
A celebration of Mary’s life is planned for Kendal at Hanover, NH, as COVID-19 conditions allow. In lieu of flowers, contributions to the Vermont Community Foundation are encouraged.