Mary MacDonald

Mary Lehman MacDonald, Fierce Advocate for Justice and Health Care, Dies at 76

Mary Lehman MacDonald, a tireless advocate for health care workers and social justice whose life spanned the stage, the union hall, and international relief efforts, died on September 23 at her home in Baltimore. She was 76.

Mary's career was a remarkable tapestry of passion, principle, and perseverance. As Director of AFT Healthcare, the health care division of the American Federation of Teachers, she represented nearly 70,000 nurses and health professionals nationwide. In that role, she helped shape policies that affected not only health workers, but also the more than 1.5 million teachers, educational staff, and public employees who depended on the health care system.

Before joining AFT, she served at the national AFL-CIO as Assistant Director of the Community Services Department and worked on the AFL-CIO Labor Law Task Force. She later became vice chair of the National Quality Forum's Measure Applications Partnership (MAP) and sat on the board of Maryland's Health Care Foundation.

Mary believed in backing principle with action. Her work took her from labor negotiations in Oregon and Vermont to post-disaster cleanups in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. She collaborated with teachers in South Africa and contributed to the International Labour Organization's initiatives on workplace substance abuse. In Baltimore, where she made her home for many years, she was a dedicated volunteer with the College Bound Foundation and Reading is Fundamental.

Baltimore wasn't just where Mary lived-it was where her heart had long belonged. Her father took her to Orioles games as a child, sparking a lifelong loyalty to the team that never wavered, even in the lean years. She was also an enthusiastic Ravens fan, known to cheer just as passionately from the stands as she did from the couch. She loved the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, especially when Marin Alsop broke barriers as its conductor. In the early 2000s, she was a proud member of the resurrected Left Bank Jazz Society, drawn to the city's deep and soulful musical roots.

Her passion for the arts extended far beyond Baltimore. Mary made regular trips to New York City to catch Broadway plays, jazz sets in intimate clubs, and performances at the opera. Every year, she made pilgrimages to the Monterey and Newport Jazz Festivals, where the music, sea air, and community fed her soul.

But Mary's journey began in a very different world: the theater. At 18, she packed a bag and left for New York City, determined to be part of the arts. She supported herself as a temp and then as a secretary at RCA Records, before becoming a stagehand at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. There, she found her community with the Chelsea Theater Center-an experimental troupe known for its bold, hybrid productions, including Allen Ginsberg's Kaddish. Her years in the theater remained among the happiest of her life.

Before launching her academic career, Mary took a detour-riding on the back of a motorcycle from Manhattan to Texas with a boyfriend, and spending time with the avant-garde collective Video Free America. These adventures reflected her openness to experience and her innate curiosity, qualities that would later infuse her scholarship and teaching.

Mary earned her undergraduate degree at Penn State University, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. She later earned a Master of Science from Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Her thesis, prescient for its time, examined the impact of investor-owned hospitals on workers. She taught in the labor extension division at Cornell and as an adjunct at Penn State.

Whether in a union hall, a university classroom, a hurricane-ravaged city, or backstage at the theater, Mary Lehman MacDonald brought passion, intellect, and a fierce moral clarity to everything she did. She leaves behind a legacy of service, compassion, and unwavering belief in the dignity of work and the power of solidarity.

She is survived by her husband, Richard Rimkunas; her stepchildren, Matthew Rimkunas and Lauren Galarneau; and three grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers Mary asks that you commit to a day of community service.

Information on a memorial celebration of Mary will be shared when information is available.