Mary Elmendorf

1917 - 2017

Elmendorf, Mary
April 13, 1917 - September 15, 2017
Dr. Mary L. Elmendorf died peacefully this morning, leaving a legacy of making a difference in this world! She was born 100 years ago, in an era when married women stayed home and had babies. Indeed, she did get married and raised a son and daughter, but she also spent her life helping others, while redefining women's roles.
Anthropologist and author, she is best known for her studies of Mayan women in the village of Chan Kom, Mexico, and for her work as a consulting anthropologist in the application of appropriate technology for community participation and involvement. Dr. Elmendorf received her Ph.D. in anthropology from the Union Institute in 1972.
In her early career, Dr. Elmendorf held various positions in the United States and abroad, working in the rural south and the slums of Boston and New Haven in the late 1930s, and at the Putney School in Vermont and Mexico in the early 1940s. She performed volunteer work with the American Friends Service Committee in Europe from 1944-1946, working in the prisons and with displaced people and later serving as Director of the Spanish Refugee Program. In 1947 the American and British Friends were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work during and after World War II, and Dr. Elmendorf considered this to be one of her greatest honors.
Her career as an educator included various projects at Brown University (1962-65), New College (1965-68), as visiting professor at Hampshire College (1971), Goddard College (1973), World Campus Afloat (1973-1974), and adjunct professor at the University of Florida (1990-2000). She participated in all of the United Nations Conferences on Women: Mexico (1975), Copenhagen (1980), Nairobi (1985), and Beijing (1995).
Dr. Elmendorf moved to Sarasota with her husband, John, in 1965, when he became president of New College. She is survived by one son, Calvin Lindsay Elmendorf and a daughter, Susan (Jeff) Roberts – and grandchildren Duncan (Kathryn) Roberts, Stirling (Kumi) Elmendorf, Lucy (Tom) Henry, Byron (Miranda) Elmendorf, Sally (Nelson) Dupere, Mary (John) Dempsey, Kathryn Roberts, John Roberts, and William Roberts – along with 6 great-grandchildren Bjorn, Adelle, Ellis, Calvin, Vivienne and Susanna.
Condolence Notes: Sue Roberts. 1085 Nelson Farm Road, Hudson, WI 54016
More details to follow.