Mary Duft

Mary Joan Duft (nee Trepke) passed away November 2nd, 2021 in Pawleys Island, SC. Born in 1934, in High Point, North Carolina, she was a loving mother, wife, and pioneering career woman who valued education and the opportunities it opened for women. After graduating from the University of North Carolina Woman's College with a degree in Home Economics she embarked on a career in NYC as a fashion stylist for Seventeen Magazine and then at Madison Avenue advertising agency. But she also loved family and adventure. So, after her marriage to Harry Duft at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in High Point, NC, she left NYC for rural Pennsylvania where she became a junior high school teacher and raised two sons. She fully embraced her role as a mother and wife, earning a reputation for her good nature, gardening, raspberry jam, baked gods, and neighborliness, all while restoring a 1780's colonial farm house with her husband and earning her MS from Lehigh University. As an educator, she encouraged young women in her community to embrace education as a tool to fulfill their dreams. After retirement, she and her husband traveled in their sailboat through the Intracoastal Waterway and Bahamas, traveling across the U. S. in their camper trailer, and on her own visited Egypt, China, Russia, Ecuador, and other exotic places. Mary is survived by her husband of 60 years, Harry Duft; Sons Dana Duft (Paige) of Asheville, NC and Ward Duft (Nova) of Boise, ID; three grandchildren Charlie, Emeline, and Lucy Duft; and her brother, Joseph Trepke of High Point, NC. Anyone who wishes to make a donation in her memory may go to www.stmaryshighpoint.org or by mail to St. Mary's Church, 108 Farriss Ave, High Point, NC 27262-3099, Attn: Katrina Parnell.