Mary L. Hackney

HACKNEY, Mary L. - After a long tango with breast cancer (first diagnosed in 1992; recurring in her bones in 2000), Mary Hackney left the dance floor for good on September 16, 2005. Mary died at home, held in the love of her partner, friends, caregivers, and healers. Born June 1, 1949 in Kansas City, MO, Mary grew up in Wichita, KS. Mary was both a passionate bibliophile and a dedicated outdoorswoman who spent many hours riding her horse across the Kansas plains. She developed into an adult with unusual range, someone who could both fix a friend's camp stove and capably translate Sophocles. Mary graduated from the University of Kansas in 1971 with a B.A. in classics and philosophy, and, after moving to California in 1972, stopped just short of attaining a PhD in comparative literature before leaving U.C. Berkeley for the world of high tech. Following a successful career in the software industry, Mary left corporate life and became a sea kayaking instructor after moving to the Half Moon Bay area in 1997. She was an enthusiastic teacher and colleague who delighted in acquiring the skills (and the gear) for kayaking, scuba diving, rock climbing, and other sports. She brought her zeal for research and attention to detail both to her athletic endeavors and to the management of her illness. Fiercely independent and driven to excel, Mary withstood the relentless erosion of her cancer for a much longer time than expected, and with more than ordinary grace. She loved and carefully tended her friends and companion animals, and those who loved her will remember her wit and passion for beauty, and her encyclopedic knowledge of film, literature, and other subjects. A student of Buddhism and other spiritual disciplines, Mary was tried and transformed by her terminal illness: she taught us all so much about how to live, and how to die. Mary is survived by her mother, Helen E. Hackney; by her partner of 15 years, Sandy Emerson; by the Jessup and Smith families (aunts, uncles and cousins); by a close circle of loving friends and healers; by her beloved greyhounds Frankie and Chess; and by the therapy cats, Calico and Susie. Donations in Mary's honor can be made to the Breast Cancer Fund www. breastcancerfund.org or the Kayumari healing community www.kayumari.org.