Mary was born on a farm near Leona, Kansas, but moved to Texas in her teen years. She graduated from Southwest Texas State and later earned a master’s degree in English from Sam Houston State and a master’s in psychology from the University of Houston/Victoria. Currently, she is retired after having taught twenty-four years in the public schools.

She and her husband, Gene, raised three children and have several grandchildren, all of whom are the light of their lives. She remains intensely interested in women’s issues both from the past and in the present.