Mary Bernstein Hunter, a devoted public servant, community leader, and beloved sister and grandmother, died on August 5, 2025, after a courageous battle with lung cancer. She was 78.

Born in Washington, DC, Mary grew up with a strong sense of purpose and curiosity about conditions of the immediate world around her, and beyond. Her parents, Alfred and Sylvia Bernstein, were civil rights activists who helped lead the 1950s movement to desegregate restaurants and public accommodations in Jim Crow Washington.

Those who knew Mary often described her as assertive, insightful, and formidable—a person who listened closely, thought carefully, and acted with integrity and purpose.

Her career reflected those same values. As a political appointee to the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Transportation during the Clinton administration, Mary played a key role in shaping national policy on interstate drug- and alcohol-testing regulations, and served asthe Secretary's official liaison to the White House. She worked closely with Canadian and Mexican partners to draft related provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and represented the U.S. at international forums. Colleagues admired her calm demeanor, attention to detail, and the clarity she brought to thorny policy questions.

Before her federal service, Mary held senior leadership roles at Trans World Airlines (TWA) and at GTE (now Verizon), where she developed and implemented policies for employee assistance programs. Across both her government and corporate work, she became a nationally recognized innovator in designing assistance initiatives for employees and their families facing substance abuse challenges. This included pioneering intervention protocols and recovery programs for airline pilots in collaboration with the Air Line Pilots Association.

In her indefatigable civic life, Mary was active in numerous professional and community organizations, serving on multiple boards. She was a founding board member of the Foggy Bottom West End Village in Washington, DC, president of its Executive Committee, and Co-Chair of its Development Committee. She was recognized many times for her contributions and honored with various awards for both professional achievement and community service.

Mary was a graduate of Emerson College in Boston, and later obtained a master's degree in educational psychology from Suffolk University, also in Boston.

In 1985, she married Thomas C. Hunter Jr., an electrical engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, and antique boating enthusiast. Tom passed away in 2007, and Mary carried his memory with grace and love.

Travel, opera, and ballet were among the great joys of her life. Her first visit to Venice, in her thirties, was transformative -- and over the past two decades she returned there for extended stays twice each year.

Mary is survived by her sister, Laura Bernstein, her brother, Carl Bernstein, and granddaughter Valeria Hunter. She remained deeply connected to her family throughout her life, offering wisdom, encouragement, and guidance.

Mary faced her cancer diagnosis, and many years battling Multiple Sclerosis, with the same qualities she brought to the rest of her life—patience, perseverance, and strength. She spent her final months surrounded by loved ones, reflecting on a life lived with purpose and care.

She will be deeply missed—not only for what she accomplished, but for the dignity and fullness with which she lived her life.

Graveside service Wednesday, August 13, 12:30 p.m., St. Lawrence Cemetery, 280 Derby Avenue, West Haven, CT.

A memorial service will be held in Washington in the fall. Donations in her memory may be made to the Foggy Bottom West End Village, https://fbwe.helpfulvillage.com/

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The Washington Post on Aug. 10, 2025.